Beginning Anew
by xfangirl obsessionx
Summary: He is now serious about reaching his dreams and sets out on a journey to achieve it while a certain someone would help our cherry blossom from wallowing in her own despair. Saku X Neji ... a bit of Naru X Hina
1. Their Decision

**Beginning Anew **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…**

**A/N: Well this is a new story, I wanted to try something new. **

**I'm currently editing my other story and I was dying at school. I'm so sorry for not updating. have fun reading!**

**Full Summary: Now somewhat darker and serious, a journey is taken to fulfill his dream, while leaving behind a cherry blossom wallowing in her own despair. Will she be able to stand and catch up to her team mate who is so close to achieving the final title that every shinobi would die to have or protect? Who would be her pillar to lean on when she collapses? Please read and Review.**

"speech"… 'thoughts'… **"Kyubbi" **

**Their Decision**

It was raining today, the day that Naruto came back in Kakashi's arms. Unconscious and barely alive. Sakura's eyes started to brim with tears of anger, betrayal, sadness and regret. Naruto was not able to fulfill his promise, Sasuke had left. As it continued to rain, Sakura took one last look at the blond haired-nin as he was whisked away to the hospital and ran home. She ran to her room and locked herself in. Outside, it continued to rain, matching her mood perfectly. The loud noises heard when the heavy rain impacted on the roof was heard loud and clear in the dead silent house. Sakura cried her eyes out in her room, refusing to come out or to eat. She felt guilty that she had not been able to stop him… her first crush. The one that she had loved since she could remember. His last words to her, ringing in her head. Her dread was worsened when she remembered the state that Naruto was in just because of her desire to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. She would have been surprised if the blond ever spoke to her again.

As the days drew on, she learned from Tsunade that Naruto had been checked out of the hospital. But Tsunade seemed worried somehow, mumbling about how Naruto hadn't smiled once or even spoken since he had regained consciousness. He seemed cold and distant. Hearing that, Sakura almost..._almost_ left her room to see if he was okay. But in the end she stayed within her confines thinking that Naruto could take care of himself.

Everyday she would try to steel her resolve and come out with a possible solution to bring Sasuke back but came up with nothing even though she had a magnificent brain. On the fourth day, she came to a decision. She would train, become strong and show Sasuke that he could become stronger here in Konoha. She desperately wanted him to come back, back home, back to her. She sighed wearily and opened her locked door. She went and cleaned herself up and went downstairs to the kitchen to find her mother. Her mothers' depressed face soon lifted when she saw her daughter finally out of her depression. She quickly whipped up some bacon and eggs for her to eat. As she sat down her mother continued standing on the same spot, waiting for Sakura to say something. But she had nothing to say so all there was was silence. Only the sound of chewing was heard and even so, it was barely audible. As soon as she was done with her breakfast, she got up and placed the dishes in the sink.

"Arigato mother," Sakura said as she headed towards the door.

Her mother could only nod and respond with a weak smile as her only daughter set off. No other words were shared between the daughter and mother as Sakura left.

Her mind was set and her determination high. 'I am going to train incredibly hard and when the time is right; I will go and ask Naruto for some assistance to retrieve Sasuke.' Sakura continued to walk at a brisk pace towards the Hokage tower hoping that that the 5th Hokage would accept her as her apprentice. When she arrives, a pair of chunnins were outside guarding her door. As she got close, the chunnin closest to her knocked on Tsunade's door and told her that Sakura has arrived. Sakura was quite surprised, how did Tsunade know that she was coming here.

"Come in," the Hokage said.

The doors opened and Sakura walked in feeling quite uncomfortable. Sitting in front of the desk was another person with blond hair. But unlike all the other times when this loud mouthed idiot was here, the room was in total silence and tension was up high on a teetering thread. Sakura visibly gulped when Tsunade looked at her. The 5th Hokage seemed dead serious and was not in the mood for nonsense.

"It is nice to see that you have finally out of your room Sakura-san," the Godaime said without breaking eye contact. "I was about to go and get someone to call you here but I guess that is not needed anymore."

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama," stuttered Sakura. She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable around this atmosphere and wanted to leave.

"Please have a seat," the Hokage said as she waved her hand towards the empty chair beside Naruto.

Not a word was exchanged as she sat down, Sakura was now nervous beyond belief and just wanted to get the hell out off there. But that was not possible at the moment. They sat there in silence waiting for something. But Sakura had no idea what was that something.

An audible poof was heard and Sakura's head shot around to see who it was. It was none other than their sensei, Kakashi.

"Yo."

"Now that we are all here, I will announce what will happen from now on. Jiraiya please come out."

The frog sennin emerged from the shadows; he had a solemn face as if he was expecting dreadful news.

"I have talked to Naruto and I have decided that team 7 shall be no more." There was a gasp coming from a pink haired girl and she looked at Naruto but he did not even flinch at the scrutinizing glare that he had just received form his team-mate. "Naruto, you will be heading out of Konoha on a journey with Jiraiya to train. I expect you back within 3 years and ready for the Hokage position within 2 years of that. Jiraiya will personally train you so that you are ready for this task and I will continue the training when you return. Sakura, at the moment, you have the choice of training with Kakashi or myself since I heard that you had excellent control over your chakra. If you are to become my apprentice, I expect you to work extremely hard and to become a medic-nin. Which do you choose?"

"I... umm… I want to become your apprentice Hokage-sama, after muck deliberation. The slug sennin nodded and continued.

"Now Kakashi, from now on, you are no longer the sensei of these children. You will be placed back among the regular jounin category where you will be given A class missions. Is that understood?"

Kakashi was silent, but finally nodded his head in understanding. His eyes wandered over to his students. 'What had ever happened to team 7? Why was it always team 7 that received misfortune? This is the only team that I had ever passed and thought that would become the next legendary sennin. My team had finally fallen in defeat… what a joke' His shoulders slumped while thinking about all these things.

Naruto continued to remain silent during this entire meeting, which was extremely strange for our cerulean eyed friend. But his face remained neutral and even his once filled emotional eyes were blank. They betrayed nothing of what he thought. 'The rookie nine is gone. We will walk our own separate paths. I'm sorry Sakura, Sasuke, everyone. I thought I could take this on, but I was wrong. I will return strong, and bring Sasuke back. That is a promise and I won't go back on my words.'

"You are dismissed. Jiraiya please stay behind, I have something to discuss with you."

Jiraiya's eyes visibly narrowed. 'So… the journey begins.' He walked up to Naruto and told him to have everything packed and ready to go in half an hour.

Naruto nodded and walked out the room without sparing anyone else another glance. When he walked out, the damp air and cool wind whipped his face. It made him smile his first genuine smile when he thought about how nature was feeling just like him. Sombre and sad. He walked steadily home while receiving many glares from the villagers but he ignored them all since he was used to this hatred. When he got home, he packed everything he needed; clothes, money, weapons and some food. It was an easy task because his little apartment was extremely neat because he finally decided that there was no longer a need to act and tidied his place. He was ready in 10 minutes so it left him with 15 minutes before he needed to arrive at the gates. He wanted to be early but not too early so he decided to take a quick walk to relieve himself of some of his stress.

The sun had finally awoken from its deep slumber and rose into the sky by noon. It was now shining brilliantly high up in the sky blinding Naruto momentarily when he stepped out of his dingy apartment. The air was refreshing as he walked down an alley where not many people went. As he walked he could hear the birds chirping and see the flowers blooming. His mind roamed into space as he thought about what the future might bring now. It was clouded and he could not decide whether or not if this was the right choice to make or not. His feet carried him to the Hyuuga mansion while he was deep in thought. Naruto was about to leave when he came up with an idea. He walked up to the gates and asked to speak with Neji. Moments later, his pearl eyed friend arrived at the front gates of the mansion.

Neji was greeted with a sullen face from Naruto who at the moment was debating about what to tell Neji and what not to tell. An awkward silence stood between the 2. During that time span, Naruto was fidgeting with his shirt looking uncomfortable.

The silence was finally broken when Neji said, "By your uncomfortable gestures and the way your eye darts toward the ground then focuses on a object just past me, I'm guessing you have something to ask of me that may produce an awkward moment between us…"

Silence…

"Ha Neji, you're the same as ever. Reading people like a book with your oh so magnificent eyes…" the sentence was dripping with sarcasm in the end making the moment seem somewhat tense. The silence was finally broken when Naruto let out a sigh, either from relief or frustration Neji really didn't know. "I want to ask you for a favour but it is okay if you decline…"

Neji's eyebrow rose a bit, wondering if this had to do with what was bothering the blond. Having his curiosity peaked, Neji asked, "And what is it that you want me to do?"

"Um well, you see, I was sorta wondering if, well you umm… could like… look-after-Sakura-while-I'm-gone?"

His eyebrows shot up even higher, and his face looked somewhat startled and then contorted into a frown of some sort. "You want me to what?"

"Well, haha, I wanted you to look after Sakura for me while I'm gone. You see, I won't be here for the next 3 years…" Neji's eyebrow (if possible) went up higher, and he had that questioning glint in his eyes, but before he could ask, Naruto continued with his story… "It is a classified mission and I am unable to tell you more." Neji seemed to understand but still seemed to be unsettled. "As I was saying earlier, I won't be here to watch over her and I don't trust her enough to look after herself after Sasuke left and all." Naruto looked somewhat defeated and looked down at his sandals as if they were the most interesting things in the world. "She even locked herself in her room for a few days refusing anything, even from Hokage-sama. But you don't have to necessarily go up to her and ask how she is doing. You could just check up on her once or twice a week without her knowing. But I understand if you decline. I really do."

There was a pregnant pause where Neji made his decision. Although he didn't have to do it, he felt like he owed Naruto a debt and this was a way he could return it no matter how small it was. 'Well it wouldn't really affect me now would it? I just have to check up on her every other day or so.' Finally a long sigh escaped the lips of the Hyuuga. "Fine, I'll do it. But do I need to contact you in anyway to tell you how things are going on?"

Naruto's face lit up slightly and his eyes showed sincere thanks for what Neji had promised him to do in his place. "Thank you so much Neji, and about the contact thing… well I guess mail would come back every now and then from Jiraiya and Tsunade. I'm guessing that I'll send the messenger to come to you as well to pick up your letter for me… is that fine with you?"

"Sure…"

Just then, Naruto remembered the time and started to panic. He had 5 minutes to get to the gates where Jiraiya had told to meet him there. "Uh... Neji I gotta go so I'll write as soon as I get a chance!" And with a quick wave, he was gone…

Neji looked somewhat surprised and stood there for a few moments longer before shaking his head from his daze and laughing inwardly. 'Who knew he could run so fast… might as well go training and search for the pink haired girl I'm suppose to check.'

With 2 minutes to spare, Naruto arrived at the main gates panting slightly. 'Wow that was a great work out, I should do that more often' he mused. He stood by the gates waiting for his sensei to arrive, but within those 2 minutes, he received many hateful glares from the villagers. 'At least the shinobi were better… they don't give me those glares… well at least most of them don't. They just seem wary of me.' He let out a sigh when a poof was heard and Jiraiya arrived.

"What's with the long face?"

"Nothing… lets go…" Naruto replied without a second thought. His mask was up once again. Although this time, it was not the fake cheerfulness he usually wore, this one was emotionless and expressionless.

Jiraiya sighed and started to walk out of the gates with Naruto beside him. He was nervous and slightly frustrated with the circumstances. What he learned from Tsunade only a few moments prior was somewhat disturbing but he knew what he must do. Villagers and most shinobi would not have been able to tell that Jiraiya was unsettled unless they were trained extremely well with telling people's emotions like the Hyuuga's. But if you strained your eye and focussed on the perverted sannin, you could see that the muscles around his shoulders were stiff and that he had a worried expression on his face. But it wasn't just that that worried him. Naruto had finally removed his bright orange jumpsuit for something rather sullen looking. It matched him perfectly at the moment. A black t-shirt with an even darker looking vest over it (the vest looks somewhat like a chunnin vest) as well as black shorts that looked almost identical to Neji's.

But that was what a Hyuuga saw as she saw them walk out of Konoha. At the moment, she felt extremely sad. She had not been informed that Naruto was going to leave for a trip or mission with Jiraiya. And it seemed to be a very long one due to the size of their packs which were a bit bigger than they should be. But that was not all, she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. She didn't know when she could see them again, she felt somewhat heartbroken. But all she could do was wait for him to come home… yes, that was all Hinata could do now. Wait… such a long and painful word that tore at her, and would continue for 3 long years to come.

The 2 male shinobi were leaping from tree to tree high up in the canopy. They had been running for 5 hours straight headed southwest towards Sand. The sun was soon to set beyond the horizon when the silence was finally broken.

"Naruto, we need to talk."

He knew it was going to come sooner or later so there was no need to avoid the conversation. He nodded his head and immediately slowed his pace until he stopped on a branch high up in the tree. 'I wonder what'll be the first thing he asks me.' Jiraiya landed on a branch lower than Naruto's without a sound. '…hmm… I never noticed before, he has great stealth' thought Naruto.

Without looking at Naruto but at the setting sun in the horizon, he spoke. "You do know what you are doing right? You won't come back until 3 years later, aren't you afraid that people would change?" There was a pregnant pause before he began once more. "There are many obstacles that you need to overcome that would scare many Kages themselves. What makes you think that you could overcome them, surpass them even dominate over them?"

Naruto looked at his sensei, the emotionless mask he wore was still on, but his eyes betrayed him. Several emotions were seen though his eyes when Jiraiya finally looked up. Fear, Frustration, Anger, determination… a few moments later, Naruto spoke.

"I am sure. The battle I had with Sasuke showed me that I truly am not strong enough. I do not seek power for revenge or wealth like Sasuke, I hope to obtain it to protect those who are dear to me, I lost one of my precious people because I was not strong enough. But that's not all, if I had a tactical mind like Shikamaru or Sakura, I might have figured our Orochimaru's plan and saved many more people. I feel so frustrated and ashamed at times when I think What if I did this, would that have happened? . Then I tell myself, There's nothing you could do about it. . But when I think about it again, I would come upon the conclusion that if I were stronger I could have prevented it form happening. That's why, with my own 2 hands, I have to become stronger. Not only for myself but for all those around me that I need to protect.

A sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he took a breath before he continued… "3 years, yea that is a long time. But it was not as long as when I tried to gain acknowledgement and respect from fellow shinobi. I finally found some, they are my precious people, my friends, my family. If they feel that they would change their opinions about me, then it would only mean that I cared for the wrong people. But knowing them, they would be there for me when I need them as will I be there for them when they need me. Don't you think so Jiraiya?"

Without waiting for an answer, Naruto continued. "I never gave up before, and I won't start now. No matter how hard these trials may be, I won't back down. Even if these would make Kages' quake in fear, I will stand up strong. My will and determination is strong. My friends need me, my only family. I won't let them down. I will complete the 3 year training with you to the best of my capabilities. This is a promise of a lifetime. I don't go back on my word for it is "my" way of the ninja!" And with that Naruto closed his eyes from the sun's last rays. He tries to calm the beating of his heart against his ribcage and the pain that enveloped his heart. After a few moments of silence, Naruto opened his eyes and looked down on the frog hermit once more.

What he saw surprised him. Instead of being angry, sad, or frustrated, what he saw was pride and happiness. Naruto was confused! Why would Jiraiya look at me like that?

Seeing that confusion on his face, the frog hermit said the only thing he thought would make him understand. "Then I will help you through these hard obstacles and train you to be thee best Hokage this world have yet to see."

He felt please to say the least. His sensei would help him through this. This meant so much for Naruto. He now had acknowledgement, hope and companionship. 'I won't be doing this all alone, there is someone here who would always support me!' Naruto's eyes blurred for a second before he wiped the tears away. His eyes were full of determination and appreciation before they turned blank once more. He nodded and continued their journey towards Sand.

'Oh my, this kid really needs to work on his mask. It could fail him when he needs it. You're the one to talk…' Jiraiya thought to himself while they continued their journey. 'Although it is nice to see his face with his actual real emotions but it won't be needed in these 3 years.' Jiraiya's eyes narrowed once again at the prospect of making the kid go through hell. 'He has great potential not to mention the stamina and will, he'll make it through. Arashi, your son might even surpass you with his potential. 5 years huh, to become a Hokage most would train from 15 until they are 30. And even then, their training wasn't easy.' He winced when he remembered all the work Arashi placed his heart and soul into doing. 'If he can accomplish this feat, he would be the youngest Hokage of Konoha. Not to mention if he masters what they Kyubbi has to offer, he would be impossible to defeat in battle. Ha, talk about having the perfect tool for war. Naruto you have a good heart, you'll lead Konoha to its greatest. I know you will, I have faith.'

The 2 shinobi continued traveling southwest, night had fallen 8 hours ago and Naruto was starting to breathe slightly harder than normal. They had been traveling for 13 hours and were finally near the outskirts of the fire country. Just out of range of where the ANBU patrol. Jiraiya was beginning to feel tired as well but it didn't show quite yet. 'Wow, his stamina is amazing! Even I'm getting tired from this fast paced running. And he's only genin for goodness sake and I'm a sennin. You've got to be ashamed of yourself Jiraiya. Has he been hiding his true potential all along?' "Let's stop Naruto. We'll set up camp and begin our training."

A nod was Jiraiya's only response as Naruto turned to his right to where he heard the distinct sound of running water. 'There must be a stream or river nearby. I can hear it…hmmm; maybe I can find our dinner there.' Naruto ran as fast as he could to the nearby river. Only a slight blur would be seen if anyone out at this time at night looked up all of a sudden in the middle of the deep forest.

An hour later, 4 fish were sizzling over a hot and bright fire. As both Naruto and Jiraiya sat watching the fish cook, Jiraiya spoke up. "We'll work on your rasengan and chakra control today."

"Why the rasengan? I understand that my chakra needs to be controlled but… ohh... I get it. You want me to be able to do it on handed am I correct?"

Jiraiya answered his question with a slight nod of his head.

"Alright, I'll do that. And I'm guessing that I'll have to figure how to do it myself. And when I'm doing that you are going to figure out our training schedule?" Naruto asked with his eyebrows raised.

A moment of confusion was seen on Jiraiya's face but it disappeared as soon as it appeared. "Correct."

Once again, there was a nod from Naruto before he picked up the fish and ate quickly. He stood up and walked towards the big rock in the middle of their clearing. There he closed his eyes and concentrated and his muscles tensed. A bright swirl of blue was seen as an unstable rasengan appeared in his hand. It was turning madly before it dissipated. Naruto looked at his empty hand before he frowned. This might be a long night he concluded.

Back over at the camp fire, Jiraiya watched his student as he tried to do a one handed rasengan. His students' determination lingered in the air as he continued to figure out how to do the one handed rasengan. 'Okay, it's time to get down to business. Naruto needs better control of his chakra and if he has that, ninjustu would be a snap for him. I guess I will just increase his list of ninjustu when I have the chance. But if ninjustu fails him, we need to work on his taijutsu in case his ninjustu fails him. His form his somewhat sloppy but it would be fine for now. Oh boy… genjutsu. We will need a lot of work on that as well as dispelling and how to tell if there one is cast upon you. He has great endurance but bad speed, I guess its back to weights. As well, we can do tactical thinking when it comes time to rest and travel. Oh man, we have a lot to do within a year.' Jiraiya once again sighed at the prospect that the kid would be getting very little rest over the next few months until he gets used to the schedule he had planned. When he looked back up again which really was another 3 hours later (well an hour later of analyzing Naruto's skill and planning what to do.. as well as sleeping for 2 hours) he was surprised to see Naruto resting. 'I guess he wasted too muck chakra, oh well I better wake him up. We're about to go in an hour.'

When he finally walked up to him, Naruto opened his eyes. He was wide awake and on full alert, but he relaxed considerably when he only found Jiraiya beside him. "Oh, it's only you…" Naruto said before he closed his eyes once again.

"What do you mean by _"Oh, it's only you…"_? Now I know that I can definitely trust you when we do stay up at night to watch for anything unusual." Jiraiya's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he said that. But Naruto's mood was definitely rubbing off of him and it didn't help that he was starting to have a rather bad attitude.

Naruto scowled at him before he said, "I wasn't asleep but trying to meditate until your chakra flared up right next to me and nearly scared me out of my pants."

"Ha, you were trying to meditate. Now that's the understatement of the year. You really looked like you were asleep. Ha, I bet you fell asleep because you ran out of chakra while trying to master the one handed rasengan."

Naruto's face lit up suddenly and he had this evil smirk on his face which just pissed Jiraiya off even more but before he could say so Naruto interrupted him. "On the contrary sensei, I mastered it 2 hours ago while you seemed to have fallen asleep."

Jiraiya looked flustered for a moment before he clamed down. "Why don't you show me this one handed rasengan that you supposedly mastered within an hour time span."

"With pleasure," Naruto answered with a smirk on his face. He got up and closed his eyes. But instead of a tensed frame and deeply concentrated frown, his structure was relaxed and calm. A moment later a swirl of chakra appeared in his hands. The one handed rasengan, clear blue and as stable as it could be stood in his hand. Then another moment later, Naruto brought up his other hand and another rasengan appeared in that hand. All the while, Naruto was mentally laughing when he saw Jiraiya's expression of complete shock.

'My lord, he has already mastered it. Arashi, your son is a genius. Oh man… and he caught me asleep.' A frown would have appeared on his face if it weren't for his jaw on the ground which refused to move.

A moment later, Naruto had the rasengans in his hand dissipate into the air. Jiraiya coughed to get his attention. "Um well, I'm sorry for… um saying that you had fallen asleep. Well we will continue with our journey now."

Moments later of scrambling around to clear the sight in which they stayed in they were once again high up in the trees and were headed southwest once more. "We will work with tactics while we travel and I'll fill you in on what we are going to do. Tonight after our travelling and tactical session we will be working on you chakra control then we will add a few jutsu's to your list of ninjustu. Because you need at least 1000 before you are qualified as a Hokage. As well, we will be improving your form in taijutsu. By then you might be exhausted but I'll teach you the other forms of your rasengan."

Naruto sopped all of a sudden. "There are other forms to the rasengan?"

"Of course, but few have seen them, but seeing how you perfected the normal one you should be able to learn the other 2 form within a month."

His brows furrowed as if in thought before he nodded and continued running. As he kept the fast pace in which they were running at he spoke… "While I was meditating, I was in my unconsciousness…"

His eyes narrowed at what was about to come out of his charge's mouth.

"I spoke with Kyubbi…"

Back in Konoha, and in the Hokage tower, a certain pink haired girl was struggling with a certain jutsu. She had been at it for half an hour without getting any results. She felt so helpless at the moment and ashamed that she could not get the simple jutsu that all medic-nin knew. 'Ugh… I want to give up but then again if I gave up I would be no better than how I started off to be. A weak cry-baby that hid behind her team mates for support. But then none of them were here with me now. They all went their separate ways towards their goal.' She closed her eyes and relaxed. 'And if I gave up now, they would all look down on me. People would think I'm weak and helpless. I don't want that. Naruto went off to train for 3 years… to become a Hokage. Now that's hard… Rukudaime, many people work so hard for their goals. Especially you Naruto. A Hokage must be trained for 15 years and have over 1000 jutsu's as well as a tactical mind. You need great chakra control and have to handle all the stressful papers. Not to mention the wicked council. If you can do it... so can I. I will be an accomplished medic-nin by the time you come back from your journey. I promise you that.


	2. An Offer

**Beginning Anew **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…**

**A/N: Well, thank you to Hot Sexy Soccer Babe 777… the first to review… oh and by the way, as I guess you all know, this is a sak/nej fic so it'll take time… please allow the snide comments and rash behaviour slide for the moment! Please note that Naruto is powerful in this fiction because I'm disappointed when he was so easily defeated by Sasuke in his four-tailed state in the manga. (I'm a little pissed off) And the Neji and Sakura chapters come later on so it would not seem too rushed. thanks again. Read and Review…**

**Full Summary: Now somewhat darker and serious, a journey is taken to fulfill his dream, while leaving behind a cherry blossom wallowing in her own despair. Will she be able to stand and catch up to her team mate who is so close to achieving the final title that every shinobi would die to have or protect? Who would be her pillar to lean on when she collapses? Please read and Review.**

"speech"… 'thoughts'… **"Kyubbi" **

**An Offer**

The sun had just risen into the sky moments ago but the sound of someone training was already heard. Deep in the woods of training ground 28, Sakura could be seen beating a poor and defenceless log into a woody pulp. She woke up early and went to the training grounds to work on her taijutsu as well as her endurance. She knew that she did not have a big chakra reserve like Naruto or the speed and eyes of Sasuke. So she decided that if she were to ever be in their league, she would have to work extra hard. Sakura was panting and breathing very hard by 8 am and decided that she needed some rest. Her chakra was depleted but she decided that she would work on her taijutsu for a while longer because she didn't have her session with the Godaime until 12. As she sat there on the ground her back against the tree her mind began to wander. So she never noticed that someone was watching her.

You could say that Neji was annoyed but it was more like irritation on his part. He had been sitting on the same tree branch for nearly an hour now and she still did not notice him there at all. 'Well maybe that is a good thing, I wouldn't want her pestering me about my reason being here. And I certainly can't tell her about what Naruto told me. He is so troublesome sometimes, asking me of this ridiculous favour. Why did I agree to it anyways? It is no wonder why I dislike females' Neji had been there a few hours after the sun had risen and followed her chakra signature to this training ground. He had decided he might as well start now on checking on Sakura before he forgets. Well not forget more like talk himself out of doing it but a promise is a promise so he had to do it. He was surprised to find her out on training ground 28 training so early. From what he could tell from his angle, she had been there for a while now. It was a Sunday and he didn't have anything to do so he decided to stay for a while to watch her practice. As he watched her practice he was quite disappointed in her. She was lacking in ninjustu and her form for taijutsu was bad. 'I wonder how she could be in the same team with Naruto and the Uchiha prodigy. Well I guess there is always a weak link in a group and link is her.' If she were ever to go out into the real world and see the brutal fights that take place, she would break.

'I wonder what Naruto is doing at the moment? Is he working as hard as me… well duh he is you idiot! He wants to become the Hokage which is certainly almost impossible to achieve at such a young age and with only 3 years of training? He better work hard or I'll kick his ass when he comes back.' She paused for a moment not knowing what else to think about. 'Sasuke… what are you doing now… ehh, you better not go there Sakura or else you'll start crying again. You promised yourself that you wouldn't cry. At least not until you bring Sasuke back.' After she finally convinced herself of that, she got back up and started to beat the tree once again.

'At least she has determination I can say that at the very least. But I still find it disappointing, maybe with hard work like Lee-' he had to smirk at that thought. '-she can become better. At least in her taijutsu.'

Lunch was soon approaching so the Hyuuga prodigy slipped back into the shadows and into the town market to have lunch.

Sakura left soon after Neji left because if she didn't she would be late for her training session with Tsunade. She ran home to have a quick shower and a change of clothes. She grabbed an apple and ran for the Hokage tower. As she was running, she wasn't looking at where she was going so she bumped head on into someone. She closed her eyes while she was falling and was expecting a rather hard impact for her rear but it never came. Her mind came crashing down on her moments later when she felt a hand holding onto her wrist. She slowly opened her eyes. Emerald met pearl, there was Hyuuga Neji holding her hand with a cold and impassive expression on his face. Sakura instantly blushed and stood up quickly and pulled her hand away. "Umm.. Thank you for catching me there and I'm terribly sorry for bumping into you." Then she started to run once again towards the tower.

'What a weird girl, appearing all of a sudden one moment and then disappearing the next. Quick on her feet I'd say and where is she headed off to in such a hurry?' Neji's brow furrowed before he sighed and continued his brisk walk back to the Hyuuga mansion a few blocks away.

As Sakura was running towards thee tower she kept scolding herself for bumping into Neji. With Sasuke gone, all his loyal fan girls seem to have taken a 360 degrees turn and were now the loyal Hyuuga prodigy's fan. 'Hmph, talk about being loyal to Sasuke. Ugh… but I still can't believe that I bumped right into me and then he had to catch me from falling to. This is so embarrassing, well Sakura here's another thing you could add to your never ending list of embarrassing moments.' She sighed dejectedly and when she finally focused on her bearings, she noticed that she was in front of the Hokage's room. She knocked and entered when she heard the voice of the Godaime grunt out a reply.

* * *

Back in the forests of the fire country, the demon container was growling with irritation and pain. Why pain you ask, it was the beginning of the process where his pathways were being destroyed and rebuilt. Jiraiya could only watch as his pupil sat on the ground clutching his stomach as his pain intensified. He was not able to do anything but watch and at the moment he felt so helpless. Moments later Naruto fell over twitching and howling in pain. 'Only 4 more hours to go…' Jiraiya thought grimly.

Before they had actually set off, Naruto told Jiraiya about his talk with Kyubbi while he was meditating.

_Flashback_

_Naruto was in the long and dreaded looking hallways once again. The lights were dim but you could make out all the different doorways that lead to his memories and knowledge. The air was stale and the water murky. Yet he ignored all these thing and continued straight and took a turn to the left before he stood before the great demon himself. Red demonic eyes shot open with a frightening ferocity that would have scared people out of their own skin but Naruto remained calm and stared impassively at the giant fox that loomed over him behind a set of solid bars in which it never break down._

"_**It took you long enough…" the beast rumbled.**_

"_I had business to take care of," Naruto answered very calmly which would have been frightening to those around him. But Kyubbi did not seem to be intimidated by him at all!_

"_**But unlike you brat, I have better things to do other that wait for your grand entry into your own mind!" the Kyubbi snarled.**_

"_Oh and what better things do you have to here in mind other than to sleep like a pig?" amusement was evident in his voice. It was also voiced out when his smirk became apparent to the fox._

"_**How dare you defile little human compare me to a pig and find amusement in it. If I were out there right now, I'll puncture your lungs and rip your heart out before eating it wholly**. **Then I'll start on your ---"**_

"_Well you aren't so stop your useless muttering and threats… Why have you called me here when you know that I have only a limited amount of time before I have to return to Konoha and fulfill my promise? Time is an important factor here you know?" his eyes narrowed slightly at the demon in front of him._

_A rumbling was heard behind the bars, then came the chuckling then the full out laughter. Naruto arched his eyebrow and looked at the beast contained within his stomach._

"_What's so funny you foul mouthed fox?" irritation was clearly shown in his words which only made Kyubbi laugh even harder._

"_**Hahaha… it's been a long time since I laughed that hard. I like your attitude brat along with your personality. I never liked that weird façade you put on when you were around others back then. I like this new and grim you…" **his voice lowered as he spoke so when the last sentence came out, it almost seemed evil. **"Foul mouthed ehh kid? I truly wonder who has the fouler mouth of us two?" **and with that, he started laughing once again._

_By now, Naruto's patience was wearing thin (not like he had any in the beginning, but even that little bit was starting to snap). "What do you want Kyubbi, I don't have time for your mindless banter. I for one have better things to do either than stay here to chit chat with you. If you don't have anything to say, then I'm leaving!"_

"_**Alright brat, since you are so impatient I'll tell you." **He received an eye roll from the spiky haired blond before he continued. **"I am here to make a preposition." **Naruto's eyebrows shot up once again showing his surprise and curiosity. **"I will deteriorate you chakra pathways and rebuild them so that you may be able to handle my demonic chakra. With these new pathways, I'll train you to use my powers as they come. They will reveal themselves one by one to you depending on how fast you learn and adapt. By the time you reach the limit of nine tails, you will receive the last offer. And as an added bonus, you will be able to freely manipulate your chakra without disturbances any further."**_

_Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly and thought about his demon's offer. 'There has to be a reason why he is offering me this preposition…' "What would you gain from this?" his voice cold._

"**_Nothing really, I would only become your subconscious and would be able to speak to you freely anytime I wish so. And when the final offering is given, I will be set free from this retched place!" a smirk was apparent on its face._**

_Naruto's eyes narrowed into slits when he heard this. "And let you roam free and disturb the peace in the land once more? I think not."_

"**_Insolent brat... can't you use your head for once? This seal attached here could only allow my chakra to go so far. I will be set free from this place and gather a solid form in the real world. Although the form would be small I shall be able to wander around and feel freedom once more," Kyubbi snarled before he continued to inform his carrier what would happen after he reached the limit of nine tails. "I could only travel so far from you before my existence start to fade. I shall let you know further information once you accept this offer and reach the limit that needs to be achieved… do you accept?"_**

_With his eyes closed, he thought of all the pros and cons of the situation and in the end there really wasn't anything bad that could happen. "I accept." The fox nodded before the surrounding area began to glow a crimson red. _

"**_I warn you brat, this is gonna hurt. Starting from when dawn appears my chakra will spread and start to deteriorate the pathways. It will last for about 6 hours until it will finally be done. The pain will be great but you must endure it. Once that is done, you will be unconscious for the next 2 hours."_**

_The evil smirk on the fox's face almost…almost made him reconsider. But before he could do anything he was pushed out of his semi-conscious state. His eyes bolted open to see Jiraiya standing next to him his chakra flaring._

_End of Flashback _

The 6 hours that Jiraiya had to sit through had felt like eternity for him where he had to feel so helpless looking at his student writhing in pain before he finally collapsed and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

'I got it, I got it!' she screamed to herself as she finally perfected how to make the heart of a dead fish pump blood once more through its body. It was on the table flipping and flopping hoping to find some water. Perplexed at what she should do now, she grabbed the fish and dumped it into the first thing that contained liquid. And it so happened to be the Godaime's new flower vase.

The doors of the Hokage's office flew in as Tsunade walked in and briskly walked towards her desk. She sat down and looked down at the teetering tower of paper work she had yet to do today. Sakura stood there dumbly not knowing what to do. Tsunade looked over a few papers before finally noticing that Sakura was shuffling around nervously from the corner of her eyes. Slowly looking up, her eyes fell upon her new and beloved vase. Her eyes bulged out from shock and surprise before she smiled and looked up proudly at her student.

"You know, you are truly amazing. No one has been able to perfect this technique after Shizune. You have all it takes to become the best medic-nin in Konoha! You should have more faith in yourself and your abilities."

Sakura smiled appreciatively. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course! Now before we continue to inflate your ego, let's move onto the next jutsu."

"Ugh!" Sakura groaned outwardly before she sighed and went to retrieve the scroll from the Godaime's hands.

"Just read it over today and I'll show you exactly what you need to do and all the other details that you would need. Be ready for a test on the nervous system as well as the skeletal system. Mending and fixing bones and muscles can be extremely dangerous if done wrong. It would be bloody because you would have to break and rip the bones, muscles, skin apart with chakra before piecing them together again. Be ready for blood and gore tomorrow." Tsunade said as she shuddered slightly at the thought.

Her student swallowed all this information and gulped at the thought. She nodded hesitantly. 'Am I ready for this? We've barely started and I'm supposed to know all about the skeletal and nervous system by the next month. Stitching back cells and skin, mending bones and repairing muscles. Am I really ready for this?' she silently sat down on one of the comfy chairs in the office before she indulged herself with all the information on the scrolls.

* * *

"Ugh, I hurt all over!" 'Kyubbi, I'll personally strangle you once you are set free from your cage. That hurt like hell.'

"So I see that you are finally up. Exactly 2 hours, the fox is very precise."

Naruto snorted, "The sooner I wake up, the sooner I'll be able to train. And the earlier I am able to train the earlier he'll be able to get out of his prison. Ugh, that was painful.

"Well now that you are all better, let's get going. We have a time limit you know?"

"Some sensei you are, your apprentice just comes back after his chakra system were destroyed and repaired and you say let's go. We're running late!"

"Brat, when I say we go, we go. We really have no time for all this babbling today. We have 2 more days until we reach our destination."

"Naruto was about to retort but saw the serious look on Jiraiya's face so he bit back down on the comment. They ran for hours even though they were exhausted, and Naruto was drilled with tactical strategies he would have never thought possible.

After a couple more hours of drilling and recounting over Konoha's long history Jiraiya gave the poor kid a break. They continued on with their run but stop with the nerve racking questions. 'This kid is horrible. How did he ever survive his battles without strategies? I know there is dumb luck, but is Lady Luck with him all the time? He better become better or else… well h won't be able to become the Rukudaime. But then again, if I'm not able to help him with it, I'm sure he will have to master it when he starts training with… ugh, this information is so classifies that I only knew about it now. If he doesn't start thinking tactically, he will certainly not survive.' A stressed sigh escaped Jiraiya as he tried to clear his mind of all the thoughts that were floating around.

"Yo kid, it's time to take a break. 'Well my turn to take a break.'"

Naruto stopped abruptly after his leap from the tree behind him. He stood there still and listening. The creatures in the woods chirped cheerfully and seemed to be relaxed for the soon coming evening.

A sense of relief washed through him when he heard that they could take a break but tensed again when he saw the wicked look on the sennin's face.

"We are going to work on your chakra control and then we'll set up camp for the night and practice your taijutsu for about an hour or so. I noticed your form his lacking and have openings which and enemy can use to their advantage. Oh and just to let you know, our destination will be sand and I'll present you with more information about our missions-"

"Nani? We have missions? I thought we were only going to train!"

"Hmph let me finish brat! Yes we have to do missions unless you want to return to Konoha with lets see… 14 D-class missions, 1 C-class mission, 1 B-class mission, 0 A-class mission, 0 S-class mission. It would also help you get more practice and interaction with the other children in other countries."

"Are you sure they would even want to play or even want to know about me? I am the Kyubbi container; will those who don't know me accept me? Won't they shun me away like all the others?" There was a downcast expression on his face.

Jiraiya's dace and tone softened before he spoke again. "Like you said, they don't know you. Get to know them; they are sure to accept you. You're a very warm kid when you want to be! They would be sure to love you and accept you after they find out about your host. However I do recommend you not to tell anyone yet. At least not until we return, we won't want certain members of the Akatsuki tracking us down." HE gave a disgusted snarl before he added, "and the snake."

Naruto gave a nod of understanding.

"Now let me continue. If you are still up to it, I'll show you the second form of the rasengan. And you can practice it if you still have the chakra but remember we will be travelling for days without much rest so it is best to conserve as much of your chakra as possible so that you may travel. Then I'll start drilling you on how to do them perfectly."

Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement as he nodded vigorously. You could practically feel the enthusiasm oozing off of him. Jiraiya gave a mental sigh at his apprentice's behaviour. 'Where in the world does he get his energy and stamina from anyway? Truly unbelievable, I better up his training.' And so the rest of the evening was spent on the task at hand.

Surprisingly as Jiraiya observed and reanalysed Naruto's skills, he already saw some improvements. For example his chakra control is actually good if he concentrated hard. But sadly Naruto loses his focus very fast. Overtime, his control should be excellent without much effort. But for the time being, he would keep practicing the tree and water walking exercises while dodging stones thrown at him by Jiraiya's clones. It would be dangerous especially in a fight if he were to lose concentration and stop in the middle of a battle to regain focus. As for his taijutsu, they spent a good 45 minutes going over the basics and making sure that they did not have any openings for an enemy to attack. They went through stance after stance but Naruto kept forgetting something or another so they only were able to go through one set by the end of the hour. He definitely had a long way to go but if he practices every night then it would come with ease. As people always so, practice makes perfect.

There was only one word to describe the mission briefing he gave Naruto and it was 'disaster'. All the questions thrown at him as well as insults and more questions had Jiraiya's head buzzing as if were the hive of a huge family of bees.

_Flashback_

"_Naruto that's enough practice today. Sit down and rest you little twerp and don't give me that face!"_

_Naruto frowned before he ran up the rocks and sat down. "Why did you stop me? I was doing fine and I don't need any rest! And you call yourself my sensei..."_

_Jiraiya's eye twitched from annoyance, "You little brat, stop belittling the great Frog sennin if you know what is good for you! Didn't I already tell you that we had to discuss some of our missions before we arrive at Sand in 2 days? You sure have a bad memory!"_

_Naruto mumbled something in the background. Either it went unheard by the sennin of he chose to ignore it, we'll never know._

"_For the time being when we arrive, you will be doing D-class missions-"_

"_D-class missions…" Naruto deadpanned. "You expect me to D-class missions for my training for a Hokage? Are you insane?" _

_  
"-when you have time from your training and once in a while we'll go on C-class missions to test how much you have improved."_

"_Okay, but only a few? How many do you mean by a few Ero-sennin?"_

"_If you are able to pass a B-class mission by the end of the month, we move on the next country to further your training. I'll then tell you where we will be going. The Hokage already allowed me to do missions from other countries and the Kage's know as well so it won't be a problem." Jiraiya completely ignored his question and continued on explaining seeing that he would have to answer at least a few dozen questions to satisfy his student. Some things never change… "On the first few days, the Kazekage will give you D-class missions that would help you know the terrain better. I expect these missions to be done correctly and efficiently since you complain that they are too easy. You fail to complete one and I'll have you do at least 5 everyday. IS that understood?" Jiraiya said as he say his student was about to retort._

_Naruto opened and closed his mouths several times before he nodded. He didn't want to be stuck doing D-class missions for who knows how long._

"_After we start the real training-"_

"_Real training? Aren't we gonna do real training on those 3 days?"_

_Jiraiya mentally sighed, "No, I have another mission while you train those 3 days. That is why I'm going to show you the second form of the rasengan to practice. But make sure no one is around while you practice. Find a secluded area where you are sure no one would ever come. You'll be living with the Kazekage while I'm off, I'm sure you know who he is though. The Gaara guy, I'm sure you'll get along fine."_

_His eyes bugged out when he heard that Gaara was already the Kazekage. "That sadistic bastard… I'll beat the hell out of him when I see him" Naruto mumbled._

_Jiraiya sweat dropped, "I don't think that is a good idea kid. If you accidentally hurt him, you'll have the entire country hunting you down._

_A dramatic sigh came form Naruto, "I guess your right. But it doesn't stop me from having a friendly spar with him right. I'll kick his ass then!"_

_End of Flashback_

Jiraiya had asked Naruto to continue with his taijutsu while he found a suitable area to learn the second form of the rasengan. A full 13 minutes later Naruto heard Jiraiya calling for him, "Twerp, I found us the perfect training area!"

Naruto burst through the forest and to a clearing surrounded by trees like a semi circle. There were many types of trees; there were cedar, maple, pine, and ones that he couldn't even name. There was a log in the centre where Jiraiya stood. Naruto turned around and was stunned to see a clear and peaceful looking lake. It was so innocent looking with birds bathing in the last rays of the sun and fish swimming lazily in the deepest parts. You could barely hear the sound of the water unless the wind brushed against its surface making small whishing sounds. There was also the occasional caw from a nearby bird but besides that, there were no sounds that seemed out of place in this environment… except "NARUTO, hello! I'm over here you brat! Stop staring out into space with that stunned expression of yours."

"Will you shut up? You are disturbing the animals here," Naruto whispered back harshly.

"I'm afraid I can't. We will be making a lot of noise while practicing your new move. I chose this area because the trees will be able to dampen the sound so no enemy shinobi will be able to hear. I also put up a shield so they wouldn't be able to detect our chakra. So let's get started!" the frog sennin yelled back.

Naruto winced slightly at the loud noise. 'And they sat I'm loud…' "Alright, alright keep your pants on, I'm coming."

The technique was quite tricky because it was still the rasengan but once you got it to stabilize, you would have to concentrate really hard to mould it into the sword shape you desire. But it was hard to maintain as told by the sennin. And since the rasengan is used to tear up its objective, the sword had to cut through its' target. So it was a really odd combination of sorts. But as Jiraiya demonstrated, if you released a certain amount of chakra you could cause a tree to completely split the tree in half but leave a hole in its centre. The tearing effect would cause the target to tear apart so that the chakra refined sharp sword would be able to cut right through. Then the pulse would come in and spread a very thin but sharp blast of air from both sides of the sword to completely split the objective. It could cut about any object depending on how much chakra you released. Each type of sword you summon would have a trait of its own and a name. After practicing a while, there would be 3 swords you could summon from. The form that Jiraiya summoned was called_ kaitou_. (Sharp sword)This form was to be used in melee battles and it was short range. His sensei warned him not to use it while in group battle but only in a one on one.

And as Jiraiya continue to display how the sword worked, Naruto could only stare in awe. He wanted to try it out right away but was stopped when he felt a hand on top of his. He looked up only to see his sensei staring at him with hard steely eyes.

"You are not allowed to practice this until we reach Suna and I see that your control is at least a fraction as that chick on your team back in Konoha." he said in the best stern voice he could muster.

Naruto looked pissed for a moment before he calmed down and had a calmer expression. He nodded before turning around and walking back to camp. His face was blank once more. It seems that it only happened when he was too emotional and had to put on a mask. He was muttering all the way back to camp. "Sakura, you better be happy. The old fart praises your almighty chakra control."

Somewhere in Konoha, a girl with bubble-gum pink hair sneezed. 'Hmm, am I getting a cold?'

Jiraiya knew that Naruto would want to practice right away so he had to take first watch and order him to go to sleep so he had the necessary rest for the following day. Naruto meanwhile gave his sensei a frustrated glare before he snorted and crawled into his futon. He was like a dead log in a matter of moments. 'Stubborn kid, don't even know his limits. Better teach that to him tomorrow.' The sennin found a comfortable and warm spot near the fire and settled down to have first watch. This was going to be a long night, especially with his head pounding from all the stress of his mission when they arrived in Suna.

* * *

**A/N: Please Read and Review. I'm sorry if I'm upsetting anyone by making Naruto really strong but I really don't like how Naruto was beaten so easily. As for the Neji and Sakura scenes, there will be more next chapter. And please tell me if you think they get way too out of character for the time being. I would greatly appreciate that. Thanks! **

**Preview: **The fast approaching days were long and hard on both members of the former team 7 as they struggled through all the obstacles in their path. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, they both strived for different dreams they ultimately lead to the same goal. They learned through trial and error and progress and improvements were definitely shown through all their hard work. Their sensei's pushed them to their limits and showed great care in their teaching. With all the focus placed on a single student, they began to mature much faster than any other in their generation. Before long, one will have mastered the one-tail, while the other slowly makes her way up into the real world that holds all the horror that she could ever imagine. Both achieving and learning with determination until the day they finally bring him back home.


	3. First Report

**Beginning Anew **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…**

**A/N: Well, thank you to all those that reviewed. This chapter contains a report on how Naruto and Jiraiya is fairing in Suna. Yippee! It also contains some scenes with Sakura and Neji although there still isn't much. I don't want to rush things. Once again, please tell me if one of them gets too out of character. It will all eventually change but if it is too sudden please let me know so I can't work it out. Read and Review . **

**Full Summary: Now somewhat darker and serious, a journey is taken to fulfill his dream, while leaving behind a cherry blossom wallowing in her own despair. Will she be able to stand and catch up to her team mate who is so close to achieving the final title that every shinobi would die to have or protect? Who would be her pillar to lean on when she collapses? Please read and Review.**

"speech"… 'thoughts'… **"Kyubbi" **

**First Report**

Tsunade gave a sigh behind her desk which was covered with all the paperwork she had yet to finish. 2 long months had passed since Naruto left on the journey with Jiraiya. She was promised a report this month sometime this week and was patiently waiting for the report. Well as patiently as a Hokage who was waiting for a mission report from an ANBU captain and his team of 4 coming back from an S-class mission that was suppose to be here 2 days ago. So I guess you could say the Godaime was not patient at all. She was really worried, and wanted to see how well Naruto had progressed under her team mates tutelage.

Sakura who is under her training had blossomed beautifully. Her skills were amazing. Her mind is able to make fast and accurate calculations that every field medic would need. She was always efficient and studied hard for all her lessons. Her medical skills were far from perfect but it was steadily getting better as well as all her other skills. Tsunade was considering that she would teach her how to do the super strength taijutsu soon and once she has it down pat, they would work on her next talent. Genjutsu, over the first month, Tsunade was able to find out that Sakura was amazing at moulding genjutsu that was extremely hard to break out of because of her unwavering control. The Hokage had taught her a few but didn't have the proper time to devote the entire lesson on just that topic. Her main priority was medical skills then her taijutsu. Then the genjutsu and ninjustu comes along.

'Hopefully, I'm not working her too hard. She seems to be doing well in all the stuff we do as well exceed a few. Our schedule will become more crammed and I'll have less time working with her because of Sound.' Tsunade sighed out loud. Sound was asking for a war against Konoha. They have been trying to get alliances with other countries. They haven't been established yet but she had a foreboding feeling that it would be soon. Hopefully after she retired though. 'Sakura will need to find a sparring partner so that she can practice when I'm busy. Hmm, gotta tell her that today after our lesson... as well as all the other things that I said that I would tell her today.' She sighed again, 'There's so much to do but so little time. Ugh… I'm going to kill that little toad when he comes back if the report doesn't get here soon'

Speaking of the devil...-er frog, a little orange frog hopped into the open window that provided a fresh breeze for the Hokage. "Yo, I got a letter for the slug sennin with huge breasts. Is that you?"

If Tsunade hadn't been so excited that the report had finally arrived she would have punched poor Gamakichi into oblivion. She nodded her head and waited impatiently for the frog to hand over the prized possession. Once she got the report from the frog, she looked at it sternly and said, "Be here tomorrow at nightfall. I'll give you the letter to send back. Oh and if you would kindly tell Jiraiya that the next time his frogs address me rudely he had better not return to Konoha for another 5 years. And you won't be seeing tomorrow so clearly anymore too, now why don't you take a break."

She turned around quickly back to her desk as the frog showed its way out eagerly with sweat drops on its head. It would certainly tell his summoner the news when he got back and scold him good for the threat he had just received. But before it could take a break, it had one more letter to pass on. Destination: Hyuuga mansion.

* * *

In training ground 28 once again, Sakura was trying to mould her chakra so that her new genjutsu wouldn't break apart. She wasn't having much success without her sensei there helping her. Recently all their time would be spent on working in the hospital learning new jutsu's and skills that would be needed on the field. If she said so herself, she was getting better but she knew that she was still lacking in certain areas. For example her taijutsu is better because she a lesson or two with Tsunade but she hadn't learned anything new in that area. As for her genjutsu, she had a talent for that. But if she were to work it out all by herself she would have trouble as she having some now. As for her ninjustu, she was only able to add a few to her currently short list but none-the-less she was improving.

One of her lessons had been to relax and meditate if you're too stressed out. So when her genjutsu broke again, she gave a huff of indignation before she sat down cross-legged and began to take in her surroundings. She was able to focus on her thoughts and wonder why her genjutsu was breaking every time she got up to a certain point. As she continued to ponder her heightened senses told her that someone was watching her. Her eyes shot open and began to search wildly about for the intruder. She didn't find anyone but she still felt their eyes watching her every move. There was a slight rustle to her left but the sound disappeared as soon as it had appeared. After searching for a while longer and not seeing anyone, she thought that the stress had finally gotten to her. 'I better go home before I catch a cold or pass out.' Then she headed towards the market place.

Neji had been sitting on the same branch of the same tree everyday these 2 months. He always sat there without a sound and coolly watched as the kunoichi went through her daily drills. His stoic expression rarely changed when watching Sakura train but occasionally his elegant eyebrow would rise due to surprise. He watched her everyday and saw progress. He acknowledged her better form and fluidity in her taijutsu and although her ninjustu was still somewhat lacking her list was getting better and better. And he was amazed whenever she practiced weaving her genjutsu. Although it wasn't that difficult to see through with his byakugan he was still impressed with her skill.

As he sat there seeing her determined to figure out the problem to her jutsu he whispered "byakugan". The veins came forth and were seen on his head. All connected to his strong and able eyes. He watched from a far and thought, 'She is moulding it correctly but it seems like she's focussing on the wrong point. She's trying to build it from bottom up but her chakra should be directed to the centre point and poured downwards. If she does that then the net will remain steady and the victim will have a harder time trying to break free.' He gave a light snort, 'I would help but it isn't my place and she would wonder why I am here.' Neji seemed so caught up in her jutsu and wanted to just tell her what was wrong because it bored him just to see her trying and trying when he already deduced what the problem was. It wasn't like he wanted to help her. He just couldn't stand people who were so hopeless that they couldn't even find a solution to their own problem. He gave a small and barely audible sigh before he slumped back down and continued watching.

His eyebrows shot up because he was surprised when he saw her sitting in the ground with her legs crossed. He placed more chakra into his eyes and focused on what she was doing. He noticed that all her muscles in her body were relaxed and she seemed to be some sort of trance. 'Ahh, so she's meditating. A good idea. With his enhanced eyes focused on her calm face he almost fell over when her eyes shot open. Seeing that she was madly looking around he finally thought, 'Oh so she finally can feel someone watching her? My eyes have a lot of chakra focused behind it so when she was meditating she must have felt it. By the way she is looking madly around; she doesn't know where I am. I better take my leave now.' He released all the chakra that had gathered behind his pupils and left. He left but not quietly enough, there was a slight rustle and he winced when he heard that. 'I better work on my stealth, but I'll practice as soon as I have lunch.' So he headed towards the market place once again although he stayed amongst the canopy as to not be detected as easily.

_

* * *

Tsunade,_

_This is the daily-er monthl-er every other month report. I have written this in the code that you have asked. We are still in Suna but we would probably be headed to Amegakure no Sato (hidden village of rain) in about a week or so. We are fairing well and below I will list some of the things that we have accomplished and important facts that have happened. _

_An offer has been made by the Kyubbi, it would allow Naruto to gain all its power in order to be set free. Now now don't fret. Kyubbi will also train Naruto and give him all it's knowledge. And he won't be set free untill all nine-tails have been absorbed. Once he has been released, Kyubbi won't be big, only about 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. It would be under the control of Naruto and it won't be able to stray far. With each tail of power he gain he also gains a unique ability. And once he gains all the demon foxes power he will get another contract additional to the frog one. Gamabunta wasn't very happy about it but he relented in the end. _

_Naruto has been able to draw upon the foxes chakra easilyy now, and his control has increased quite a bit that he can perform simple low level healing jutsu's to perfection. Darn that kid, when he was sparring against me in the middle of the desert he called upon Gamabunta so easily. He wasn't even breathing hard! Gamabunta was pissed man, and when Naruto explained it to him he got even more mad. But since that brat loked exactly like the Yondaime, that damned frog took it out on me. None of the ladies would even come near me after that incident for a whole week. I barely recovered alive. You know that I need women to live. Ugh, I'll kick the twerps butt the next time we spar! Naruto was able to master 2 of few jutsu's with the large toad._

_The kids capacity grew too, about ¼ or a bit less than mine. Boy was I surprised when I was testing him. The first tail has been harnessed, and he gained extremely enhanced senses. Especially those of his nose and ears. His eyes are better but his sense of touch remained mostly the same. His accuracy, agility, and power increased and we are still working on mastery before we could attempt to make him stronger for the next tail. Woah, I just noticed this is quite a long report, I'll give you the other information quickly._

_He has completed about 122 jutsu's to perfection._

_Done: 37 D-class, 21 C-class, 4 B-class, 0 A-class, 0 S-class_

_I would say this is quite an achievement. He's getting better. Soon C-class missions would become to easy. But we don't have to worry until the next month or so._

_He learns the concepts behind jutsus and stategies rather quickly and has a good heart. Jut like his father. Although he has a few problems coming up with good and pluasible tactics, we will be working on those the coming few months. I'll report in another 2 months. How is everything back there in Konoha? Reply soon, beware of the red dawn._

_Jiraiya_

Tsunade read it a few more times to make sure she read it right. When she finished reading it for the 4th time she blinked a couple of times from shock. 'Kyubbi made a very generous offer and Jiraiya was not able to detect anything wrong with the sudden turn of events. And they already completed so many missions in such a short time? A good achievement… hmm, since Jiraiya did not mention anything about the mission, I guess they aren't there. Rain is next huh, so Naruto has learned a lot of jutsu's related to this area. The Kazekage sent a letter requesting the help of Naruto and Jiraiya after their mission is over or to visit often because they have been a great help… so Naruto made friends with Gaara and his siblings. It also seems that Sand is fairing rather well with their new Kazekage.'

But what alarmed Tsunade was that the Akatsuki was on the move once again. 'Which members are on the move? Do they want to capture Naruto and Kyubbi… maybe that is the reason why the demon gave them such a generous offer. If Akatsuki was after them… wait, maybe they are not specifically after Naruto. Yet. They eould probably try to track them then keep an eye on them. So that's why they are heading towards rain so fast. If so, Sakura better be ready soon. Another reason to talk to her sooner rather than later.'

Tsunade put the letter back down and sealed it before putting it away along with all her important files that she locked away. There were still a few more of the Thirds' files to go through but she was too stressed at the moment to pay much attention to it. She had to think up of a plan for Sakura and the Konoha's forces when the time came to attack Sound and the Akatsuki. Extra training would be needed but she had no time… Jiraiya can take care of Naruto. He would know his strengths and weaknesses and go at the pace until the time comes for the others to take over. Trouble was brewing near the Sound and Fire border. They seem to be asking for a war. Tsunade let out a stress filled sigh once again. She still needed to make alliances with the Hidden Villages that she trusted and sign peace treaties with the remaining Villages in case of war. There was just too much to do, with time against them.

* * *

Walking through the busy streets of the market place, Sakura took in to all the smells and sights that intruded upon her senses. The bright light made her squint and blinded her momentarily making her bump into someone.

A few months past, she would be careful not to bump into anyone so that she wouldn't be dirty when her beloved Sasuke saw her. But now she just didn't care. She felt free for the lack of a better word, and she enjoyed her time with her best friend Ino. Yes her best friend, when Sasuke left, Ino and Sakura took their time to rebuild their friendship.

After much thought, she found that Sasuke as the problem to a lot of her problems. With him gone, a huge burden was lifted off of her, don't get her wrong but she found that she could live without him. At first it was painful to find out that a lot of her childhood was wasted on something so idiotic such as wasting her time preening herself and fawning over the arrogant Sasuke. But as the days continued to come the pain lessened, and her heart that was broken by an inconsiderate team mate started to heal. Most would say that she has matured and has come out of her shell that was a timid yet obsessed and obnoxious fangirl of Sasuke. You could see that she didn't get all depressed when the 'traitor' was mentioned in her friends conversations. However she would listen to their point of view and either contradict or agree with their opinion which was quite surprising at times. All her friends helped and she finally found that Naruto was a true friend that she always overlooked. She missed him dearly… all his energy and happy cheer; even if it was fake. Yea, after much thought she figured that Naruto always just had a mask on. He was always happy but a great companion, comerade, friend. Now that Naruto was gone, she would have to wait for 3 years before she could ask him for his forgiveness over that fact that she gave him the could shoulder throughout their time at the academy. But what she found weird was that fact that none of the Rookie 9 seem to know where he was; they asked her questions about where he went. Tsunade forbid her from telling them so all she could say was that he was on a mission and wouldn't be back until some time later.

_Flashback_

_The group had gathered for some time together and pleasantly started talking but Naruto was brought up suddenly in their conversation._

"_Hey where is he anyway?" Kiba asked the group._

"_Ano.. he went on a mission and won't be back for a long time." Sakura answered._

"_H-how long do you think h-h-he will be gone for Sakura-san?" Hinata hesitantly asked._

"_I'm not sure. Close to 3 years?"_

_It was quiet. Most of the group was stunned._

"_T-th-three years?" Hinata chocked back. It looked like it she was going to cry but a comforting hand was placed on her shoulder. It tightened until she turned around and came face to face with Neji._

"_Don't worry, Hinata-sama. I'm sure he will fare well on his journey. He will return, you need not worry. He must accomplish this mission."_

_The words were not as comfortating as they could be, but coming from Neji it was quite warm unlike the rest of his personality. It seemed that everyone understood and agreed. They all knew about Hinata's crush on Naruto, only the blond was oblivious and they knew why she was so worried._

"_He made a promise to Sakura-san, he will return to fulfill it." Even the quiet Aburame joined in in the comforting._

_Everyone nodded. _

_Hinata only smiled. She understood that they were trying to cheer her up. Her face was slightly flushed. 'Wait! That would mean that they know I like Naruto-kun.' "Eeep!" Hinata cried out loud._

"_Is something that matter Hinata?" Chouji asked._

"_No… no, nothings wrong." Hinata replied slightly nervous. _

_As the conversation continued about the blond gennin, Hinata spaced out and prayed for his safety. 'Please Naruto-kun. Please make it back home safely.'_

_Neji did not seemed shocked at all, and kept that impassive face when Sakura told the group all the information she knew. Shino had the same stoic expression…well you really couldn't see behind those glasses and high coller. Shikamaru seemed suspicious but being as lazy as he was, he just mumbled something about it being troublesome. He would think about it later after their group went home for the night. Lee was yelling something regarding the fire of youth, while Kiba was acting all annoyed and irritated because he did not get chosen for the mission. Hinata remained silent throughout the entire exchange and just listened quietly. She kept wishing Naruto the best of luck and to return home safely… and to her as well. Her face turned red at thought. Chouji,Tenten, and Ino just looked surprised for the most part. They added their own opinions once in a while regarding their blond friend. _

_After discussing the subject a while longer they decided to change the topic and talk about more cheerful news, like the upcoming chunnin exams in Grass country in 4 months._

_End of Flashback_

Now back to her current problem. She just bumped into an elderly lady and knocked down all her groceries. She sprang back up onto her feet from natural reflexes and started picking up all the fallen groceries while apoligizing profusely for not watching where she was going. Within moments everything was packed back into the bags and Sakura let go a sigh of relief that nothing fragile such as eggs had been broken. Then she noticed that the old lady was still on the ground with a slightly stunned and pained expression.

"Are you okay? I'm very sorry for knocking you over… I wasn't watching where I was going."

The old lady gave her a kind elderly smile that only grandmother's that bake cookies for their grandchildren can give. "I'm okay, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to get home. I think I twisted my ankle." She grimaced slightly from the pain.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Here let me help you fix that. I'm a medic-nin. And I'll help you home too. Please accept my apoligies." Sakura kept apoligizing.

"It's okay dear. Are you sure you can heal me? Are you busy? You could just drop me by the hospital." She gave Sakura a geniune smile.

"No, it's really okay. Here, let me." Sakura said when the lady tried to move.

Sakura placed her hand above the elderly lady's ankle and closed her eyes so that she could concentrate. She thought about how to fix twisted joints, tendons, veins, wrists, and ankles a month ago. As she remembered what to do, a warm chakra glowed from her hands. The elderly lady quieted instantly as she watched the alien chakra entered her system and increased her healing speed. The twisted veins and cells were forcibly and gently oushed back in place so that the patient endured no pain. Moments later the green chakra evaporated.

"Um, your ankle has been healed but it might still be tender for about an hour. Don't put too much strain on it."

An average citizen would have continued to gape at her in shock, but this was no average civilian. "Ahh, so you are what my huband and son calls a medic-nin. Quite talented aren't you dear?" she said with a gentle smile gracing her face.

Now it was time for Sakura to become slightly shocked. She hesitantly asked, "Ano, are your husband and son shinobi's?" as what the old lady said finally clicked in her mind.

"My husband and son _were_ shinobi, but they are no longer with us. Rin went off duty from being a kunoichi shortly after my son's death. She never really got over his death in the sound and sand invasion. Ano, I'm afraid neither have I…" she gave Sakura a heartbroken smile and let out a sigh. Her smile was so depressingly sad yet alarmingly genuine.

Sakura had no idea what to do or say. She spoke the first thing that came to her mind. "Ano, would you like me to walk you home? I can carry your groceries since I was the one to carelessly bump into you."

Her question and generousity received a grandmotherly smile. "That would be lovely dear."

Sakura gave her a smile before getting up and lifting the bags effortlessly. She walked back over to –uhh- "Um, how may I address you by um…" Sakura asked with a sheepish smile.

"Aisura would be fine dear." She gave Sakura yet another kind smile in which Sakura returned. "And what may I call such a fine lady such as yourself?"

Sakura flushed from being called a fine lady. Inner Sakura was giggling like a mad idiot. "Um, I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura."

Ever so gently, Sakura aided Aisura to her feet. She took a couple of unsteady steps until her foot muscles were use to the slight strain. Her face was graced with a smile before she gave a slight nod and started limping towards her house a few blocks away from the market place.

Aisura leaned onto Sakura only a slightly bit to retain her balance every time she took a step. They made their way to Aisura's house at a slow yet comfortable pace. The bags in Saskura's arms seemed weightless due to her training therefore it wasn't very hard to carry all the bags to her patients' place at their current and steady walking speed. Sakura and Aisura had a friendly chatter all the way to the house. As they continued to walk, Aisura's steps became more solid and didn't lean onto Sakura anymore. They were in a deep conversation related to herbs that they didn't notice 2 sets of eyes watching their every moves.

Rin's eyes trailed them from a far checking to see if they were a threat, well the pink haired kunoichi anyways. Some habits died hard, especially when you used to be a paranoid medic-nin who has had her husband killed before her very eyes. After killing all the enemies within the vincity with rage, she collapsed. Just fell down and began to cry, sob, breakdown. Ever since the day she woke up in the hospital and saw her husband's name on the memorial stone, she became an off duty jounin. An off duty medic-nin, although she was never the less alert. Before her eyes laid another kunoichi.

'An enemy or a comerade? Pink hair, green eyes, bright tunic, stands out too much in the crowd. Can't possibly be a spy…' she seemed familiar, something that Kakashi had said to her a couple months back but couldn't quite place. Kakashi, her former team mate. They rarely talked, but the day he came in he looked like a wreck. A miserable male mumbling about how he had failed his team.

Being a skilled kunoichi, she did a couple of quick seals and whispered out a medical jutsu. Suddenly all those around her disappeared from view but one. Her aura was gentle and calm with nothing hidden away. Only sadness and betrayal seemed to be locked away from the heart and mind. Determination seemed to cover the cage of unwanted emotions, never wavering. Her chakra colour was off though… greenish blue although the inner core seemed to pulse green chakra more steadily. 'Ahh, so she's the medic-nin in training. The girl that was on Team 7, Kakashi's team. The only one that he had passed. The girl that is now the apprentice of one of the legendery sennin. The one that is supposedly going to be put into a three man genin team as a project to see if four genins would really be more beneficial. But why trained by the Hokage herself? How is she so special? Any other qualified medic-nin would be able to teach her.'

How did she know all this? Well even though Rin was a off duty kunoichi, she was well informed by her friends that were teaching in the academy. And Kakashi. Kitai her only son went to the academy. He wanted to become a strong shinobi just like his father. She had said no but he was persistant. She finally gave in but not without telling him that if he ever failed a test he would have to give up on being a ninja. Yea, it was quite harsh but who could blame her. She never wanted to see another loved one die again. Memories of an Uchiha, her sensei, her husband, her family flashed though her mind.

They were at the door now, ready to open it. Rin quickly snapped out of her stupor and opened the door and put up the act that Aisura and she put together whenever a stranger came to their abode. "Kaa-san are you okay?"

"I'm fine Rin. This young lady here helped me when I twisted my ankle."

'She used my real name, so she's to be trusted…'

Sakura fought down a blush that threatened to burst to her already flushed cheeks. "It was nothing really, I should say sorry for bumping into you in the first place."

"I'll have none of that. If kaa-san thinks you are worth thanking, she would say so. Arigato. Would you like to stay for tea?"

Sakura looked flustered. "Ano, gomennaisai. I have a lesson soon so I have to go. But thank you for the offer."

'Ahh, so she's the warm and kind hearted type.' "No, it's fine. Come and join us on another day. How about the coming Sunday? You could meet my son Kitai." Rin gave her a genuine smile. 'I like her personality, very easy to get along with. It could prove to be both deadly and advantageous. Maybe she is special… I guess I'll test her Sunday…'

"I would love that. Thank you so much and I'm sorry once again. I'll see you on Sunday." Sakura beamed before she gave the 2 women a slight bow and wave. She then headed towards the Hokage tower once more.

Aisura and Rin both waved goodbye to the fast retreating girl. "I like that girl, so kind yet so sad." Rin said as Sakura's back disappeared from view.

"But her determination is great. Her spirit is lively and pure. Faithful.. There aren't many of those left nowadays. My chakra seemed to be attracted to her warm yet distant one. I knew that it was similar to that of a medics, but I was curious that it seemed so young. I had to find it, and when I did, the only way to meet her was to bump into her. Her skills as a medic-nin is coming along very well. She is very talented for her age, near complete chakra control. My ankle was healed and I was able to walk perfectly in a matter of less than 10 minutes. Great things will come upon her in the near future." Aisura replied to her daughter in law.

"Hmm, I guess I can train her. I'll need to speak to Tsunade-sama though. I'll do it when I go pick up Kitai. You're a great actress kaa-san. You fooled her, and she believed it. She needs to know who to trust and those that can lie and kill behind your back without ever feeling regret. I agree that she seems special, but she needs some work. Even you said so. She's safe… she won't be one to fail her mission. The mission from her heart that she works so hard for right now. To be able to strive forward and learn from your mistakes, a great lesson to be learned only from oneself."

"Kids these days grow up too fast. So when do we pick up Kitai from the academy?" she asked with a sigh.

"In another hour." Rin shrugged.

Both kunoichi walked back into the confines of their home to discuss their plans for the upcoming future. On that contained a pink haired kunoichi.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update… haha it's the summer and I got to work. Oh, I would like to thank Hot Sexy Soccer Babe 777, anime girl987, Kiba-and-Sakura-4ever for reviewing. It means a lot! Don't' worry about the new characters. There really aren't many new characters in this story. I just thought that it could use a little twist. Sakura would only get mild training because you don't Naruto to get all the fame and glory now do you? The new characters are either minor or secondary characters to make the story more smooth. Once again please tell me if any of the main characters are out of character and read and review! Thanks. **

**Preview: Neji and Sakura chapter.. teeheee **

**Bumping into him once again, Sakura finds herself in a predicament while Neji ponders over Sakura's last meeting with the old kunochi and off duty medic jounin. He watches her interact with others and finds himself a sparring partner. **

**TBC… Read and Review! thanks.**


	4. Bumping Into You

**Beginning Anew **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…**

**A/N: Well, thank you to all those that reviewed. This chapter contains a report on how Naruto and Jiraiya is fairing in Suna. Yippee!! It also contains some scenes with Sakura and Neji although there still isn't much. I don't want to rush things. Once again, please tell me if one of them gets too out of character. It will all eventually change but if it is too sudden please let me know so I can't work it out. Read and Review . **

**Full Summary: Now somewhat darker and serious, a journey is taken to fulfill his dream, while leaving behind a cherry blossom wallowing in her own despair. Will she be able to stand and catch up to her team mate who is so close to achieving the final title that every shinobi would die to have or protect? Who would be her pillar to lean on when she collapses? Please read and Review.**

"speech"… 'thoughts'… **"Kyubbi" **

**Bumping Into You**

The other set of eyes that had follows Sakura from he market place to Aisura's home stepped out of the shadows that hid him so well. Piercing pearl eyes glinted dangerously as his mind was in chaos. From what he could tell, the 2 women that Sakura was talking to were kunoichi. Two skilled kunoichi that were able to hide their chakra well. He would have never known that until one of their's flared slightly doing a jutsu. It was fast and he had barely been able to catch it. Once he found out that the other knew and was a kunoichi as well, he hid his chakra. Putting and closing of a few pathways until he only had enough to act like a normal civilian if were caught. Luckily for him, the 2 seemed extremely occupied by his charge to notice that he was there.

Neji's mind was a mess. Many thoughts and questions ran through his head at abnormal speeds. His head was starting to hurt from trying to process all that he had seen today.

'Take a deep breath, let it out. Okay, I'm calm. Now I need to go back to the compound and meditate. There are many thoughts that I have to organise and sort.'

He slowly started to walk back towards the market place and back to Hyuuga compound. He didn't run, in case he drew attention to himself.

'Why does this girl draw so much unneeded attention to herself? My life would be so much simpler without the added complications.'

The numbing sensation of pain was slowly dulling as he continued to relax as he walked. Closing his eyes, he briefly thought about all the events that had occurred within an hour time span.

'What does the pink haired kunoichi possess that would attract skilled shinobi and kunoichi to her. What does she have that I have not seen?' The image of an alien yet calming chakra came to mind. 'Was it her that used that chakra? It was that that drew me to that sector of the market place. There were no other ninja around the district but her and the old kunoichi. Was it the old kunoichi that emitted the strange chakra?'

His mind started hurting again so he opened his eyes and rubbed his temples to get the soothing effect. To his surprise, his feet had carried him to the front of the compound.

"Finally," he said with a sigh of relief.

Xx

"I'm terribly sorry that I'm late Tsunade-sama. I bumped into an old lady and had to heal her. And then I carried her bags for her so that her twisted ankle wouldn't have as much strain…"

Tsunade seemed distracted as she waved her hand dismissively to Sakura's excuse for being late. In fact, something seemed wrong as Tsunade was busily doing her paperwork. Writing a few letters and stamping a few she actually looked like she was hard at work. Sakura's eyes narrowed at the person before her.

"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Take a seat Sakura. I got a few things to discuss with you. Listen well because I won't repeat." Tsunade said as she continued to busy herself as Sakura hastily took a seat in front of her desk. Once seated, Tsunade lifted her head and put it on top of her clasped hands.

"I received the report from Jiraiya and Naruto." Sakura's face visibly brightened when she heard that her friend was alive and ell. "The time in which they are scheduled to return to Konoha has remained the same. He is doing really well under the frog hermit's tutelage. I am not however allowed to share what they did because it is classified."

"That however is not the important news I needed to tell you. Some things have been brought to my immediate attention. I will not be able to train you as much. You'll need to find someone to tutor and teach you on the days that I can't. Unfortunately for you, you won't be able to take any days off due to a few problems that have risen."

The expression on Sakura's face turned from confused to utter shock. Questions were racing through her mind a mile a minute. She was about to start her rant when her sensei cut her off.

"I know that this is hard on you but please understand that my duty as Hokage at this critical time is very important. It isn't like I won't be able to train you. Think of it as I won't be able to train you as much. Your new tutor and sparring partner should be able to cover it all as well as more."

After a few more moments, Sakura nodded in understanding. The Godaime gave her a grateful smile. "Now before I forget, you'll probably be undergoing the chunnin exams again in about a year. It's not like I don't think you'll pass but relations with Grass has been quite shaky recently and I don't wish to risk the lives of potential chunnin in the exam in 4 months."

Sakura gave a nod in understanding once again.

"Good. Before we continue talking about unneeded political matters we should start our lesson. Do you feel like learning anything specific today?"

Sakura thought for a short while until she came across and event that still had her flustered. The incident from this morning… "Um, I was wondering… can you detect other ninja's with our chakra by their chakra?"

Tsunade arched her eyebrows in surprise. "Well, yes. A lot of ninja's do so when tracking, hunting, and battling. If you are familiar with one's chakra, you would be able to detect them. Just send out a thin veil of chakra outwards. Reach out and take in all your surroundings like when you are meditating. If it is foreign it usually means that I might be an enemy shinobi. Now why would you be interested in this? People who are usually talented and have excellent chakra control would be able to detect another easily. Some intelligent ninja's in our research labs have also deduced that the same theory could be used to detect those who try to hide it as well. Are you experiencing difficulties?"

A slight flush appeared on Sakura's features. "Um well, actually I've never done it before. But I can see why the same concept would work to find those who try to hide their chakra."

"So what brought up your sudden interest?"

"Um…nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…"

"Okay then. Today's lesson will start with some quick medical jutsu warm-ups. Then we'll learn the concept behind super-strength taijutsu. Now I warn you that I don't want you shouting off to your friends or practicing in public. You will need to find a place to practice that is secluded and that no one will come upon. Hmm… I guess your sparring partner would be allowed to know but he or she will not be able to tell. Understood?"

"Hai," Sakura said while nodding her head vigorously. All her body movements indicated that she was excited. 'I'll worry about other matters later.'

Xx

Pearl like eyes opened to see a clean pristine room. Extremely neat; the furniture not either crowded or sparse. Cosy yet unwelcoming to guests or strangers other that it's owner. Neji's eyes scanned his room briefly to see if anything was out of place. It was normal habit for Neji to do so in case anyone had come in. He had 'kindly' asked the main house and maids to leave his room alone. Neji was a neat person. Close to perfect but always seemed to hold his own flaws. Most remain unseen to others and yet those that can be seen, no one dares to point out or they would suffer his wrath.

He is a secretive person as well. He hides his secrets as he hides his emotions. One slip and it could be over for him. Neji keeps to himself. Never sharing and never talking unless it was needed. A mysterious boy turning man. Handsome as they come. What girl wouldn't fall for him? Another Shino minus the glasses, high collar, hair, and bugs…

Seeing that nothing was out of place, he went and sat down on one of the meditating mats set in front of the drawer that held his ninja weapons. Neji sat in a comfortable position and closed his eyes once again. He took a few deep breaths to relax all the alert muscles and began to go into a trance.

The room was eerily silent, as if there were no one inside. Even chakra was barely detected behind the white sliding doors.

His mind was a mess as soon as he entered his usually calm abode. As of right now, his brain seemed to be working on the fumes alone. To put it simply, the place was a mess. It was hectic. It was not Neji. As the better part of his head began to fix the mess of events at the end of the day, Neji began to organise and find the meaning of the events that had occurred.

He watched as he watched the pink haired kunoichi doing her daily exercises before giving her attention to her other skills. He was a witness to her ninjustu which were compromised of the 3 basic ones learned at the academy and 17 others. This list was quite short, although the ones she could perform were near or exactly perfect. The other art that se sae her practice was her genjutsu. It was hard to admit but he had to say that she was quite talented in this section. Although she had not learned much, the ones she knew were at least B-rank. 'If she had a sparring partner then she would be able to learn more quickly. However training and isolating yourself may be good at times, people still need teamwork or human interaction to improve.' A memory of his team flashed by quickly as his train of thought was interrupted. Okay, now from observing her, Neji deduced that her main focus was on her taijutsu. It used to be one of her weakest points but now it is beyond average of a genin's. She was improving steadily but it would be halted once in a while when she did exercise that required two people. If her were to rank the 3, the order would be ninjustu, genjutsu, the taijutsu. Although her genjutsu was pretty close to her taijutsu.

Watching her practice everyday for 2months, Neji himself would have thought that she would learn and practice medical jutsu's. He had learned that the Hokage was the best medical-nin in the history of Konoha form Ten Ten when they were still in the academy. Ten Ten was a huge fan of Tsunade's so that was no surprise. He was sorely disappointed when he hadn't seen a single healing jutsu throughout this time period. He had thought that the Hokage would teach her some of the skills that would and could be used on the battle field proving to be a great asset and advantage. And he would have thought that the girl would ask to be trained in that area. But unfortunately his deduction seemed to be wrong. Neji was rarely wrong so this surprised and puzzled him. 'What piece of the puzzle am I missing? What is it that the 2 kunoichi would want form Sakura-san? Her skills are only slightly above average at the moment and there are a lot more talented shinobi in Konoha. What does she have that I had not seen?' Neji gave a mental sigh filled with stress. 'Okay no jumping. Let's go back to the forest of training ground 28.'

'Shortly after being detected, I left to have some lunch. The canopy and trees were thinning out as I got towards the market pace so I abandoned the idea of practicing my stealth. Walking along the streets I ran into Shikamaru-san. The lazy genius chunnin. We had a brief conversation about the chunnin exams in Grass. I was surprised that only a single genin would attend to hold up our shaky relations. I wanted to be the representative but it was risky. And I admit that there might have been a few genin more suitable for the job. But when I thought about it again I saw a problem…'

_Flashback_

"_But aren't there supposed to be at least a 3 man team that attends? Grass would like to practice wouldn't they?" Neji asked._

"_I asked Tsunade too during the meeting but she said that only Konoha and a few other villages follow this tradition. Others only want to test one's skills and power in combat. Some like Grass do this as well as teamwork. But their teams would be selected randomly. So one team might consist of 3 genin's each from a separate village. All this is so troublesome. I don't understand why they can't just do some silly test like those genin's and pass the ones that qualify." Shikamaru said while rolling his eyes at his own thought._

"_Villages such as us want to advertise our ninja's to get better business. I'm surprised and yet I still understand the Godaime's reason for only one shinobi. Our relations are shaky and after losing a huge part of our forces in the invasion we don't want to risk the chance of losing potential chunnin. But wouldn't she want to send more so that we could show all the other villages that we can stand up strong even after the war?" _

"_That's why I say this is troublesome. Our senseis should know when we are ready. I say they should be the ones to promote us to chunnin."_

"_You really are terribly lazy. Asuma-san would have already made you chunnin a long time ago then. Your team although quite good still are lacking in areas. But Asuma-san can't see all your weaknesses."_

_Shikamaru's eyes narrowed a bit when he thought that Neji was declaring him and his team weak. But then he snorted and said, "I guess you're right." A mental image of Asuma-sensei being lazy with a cigarette in his mouth dozing off while the team was arguing about what to practice first flashed through his mind. "But I still say this is too troublesome for me to look for a candidate for this exam. All of us were instructed to do so, however a genin must know before he is nominated. I would ask Shino but Kurenai would probably nominate him and since Asuma-sensei is dating her he would probably nominate him as well. Your sensei might be fretting over Lee and you. If he frets our entire village would be doomed by his extremely long winded and boring and not to mention annoying youthful rants. Besides you are suited for the job and others might nominate you as well. Now it's up to the rest of the chunnin's and jounin's to vote who would go. So do you want to go or not?"_

_Neji had an amused smirk on his face when Shikamaru mentioned his sensei's habits. 'Maybe I can get along with him. But he gives much unneeded information. Talks too much… or maybe he's trying to tell me something. Hn, could also mean he's nervous or just plain lazy to ask another. Probably the latter.' "Hn, sure. I don't care."_

"_Good because I already put in my slip." With that said, Shikamaru lifted himself off the wall that he was leaning on and started to walk away. With his back towards Neji he waved and said "See ya and good luck with the hag if you are to go. Ugh… so troublesome."_

_Neji looked slightly irritated that Shikamaru entered him without asking first. But the harms already done so he couldn't complain. He didn't want to complain. He wasn't one to complain. 'He's truly lazy but I can't help but think that there was something he wanted to say. He usually wouldn't talk so much. Probably classified information. I'll think about it later.'_

_End of Flashback_

'Yea I'll think about that later. I'm more worried about that girl's problem. Okay, after talking to Shikamaru, I continued down towards the centre where all the food stands were. I passed by many people from the academy; some of which were chunnin's and jounin's. I paid them no mind as I made my way to the usual café where I have lunch. It was a quiet place secluded and isolated from the rest of the market.' That part of the town wasn't in the best conditions either therefore Neji found it the perfect place to enjoy his meal away from fan girls. Unfortunately it had a certain downfall. There was only one alley that led to that area.

Speaking of which, as Neji continued walking down dark alleys and lonesome streets while darting every female in his club from the site his mind began to wander. At first he was thinking about Hinata-sama's problem; debating whether or not to write to Naruto about it. And then about the obnoxious fan girls that had chased him in the market place before finally settling down on a thought about a certain pink haired maiden.

But he snapped out of his stupor when he came upon the last and most dangerous alley. This alley was dangerous because it led right past the outskirts of the market place. A few girls had caught sight of him before and waited there for him everyday. It was bothersome but he had gotten used to it. He contemplated on whether to just put on a mad dash across or to henge himself. In the end he decided that he could use a bit more exercise. Hence he carefully placed some chakra at his feet.

And he was off! He ran at speeds that no trained eye could catch. Only those of mid-jounin and up were able to detect his presence. As he ran he saw at least 13 girls hiding in the shadows waiting to jump him. He gave a slight shudder at the disturbing thought. The end came really fast, his senses on high alert. Then just as he leapt into the street that held his café and past the busy outskirts of the market place he saw a blur of pink.

He stopped abruptly as his curiosity got the better of him. 'Wasn't Sakura at the training grounds moments ago? Why is she here and at this time? Who cares, I need lunch first.' And so he started to walk off once again. Not more than 7 loitering steps later his chakra was suddenly attracted to a warm and familiar one. Yet the chakra felt alien to him.

"Byakugan."

All the walls became invisible as he searched for the chakra. He had only felt it twice in his lifetime. Once in the chunnin exams when he was injured and the other time being when he had barely survived from trying to rescue the Uchiha kid. 'It was a medic's charka I feel! But why here out in the open? Usually they would be in the hospital. They wouldn't be out here unless there was a big accident or war. Yet I didn't fee; any large chakra flare up at all within these 2 hours. And it feels do familiar!' Then he saw it. It's warm green glow.

'The curiosity killed the cat.' Neji told himself when e had felt the urge to go and check who exactly was emitting the chakra. 'But the satisfaction brought it back,' Neji contradicted himself. With that said he began to retrace his steps as quickly as he could.

The just as it appeared, it vanished out of thin air. Neji's heart rate increased as the steady beating became increasingly fast. 'Where is it? I can't find it! Where could it have gone?' His questions only made him run all the faster. He ran back to the market place, eyes searching frantically for the source of the green chakra. Turning his head to the left he saw only civilians walking about searching for the needed merchandise. Looking in front only served him no good as a fan girl nearly saw him, He dashed to the right hoping to catch sight of cotton candy pink. His feet just carried him, acting on instinct. Taking a turn he caught pink with grey.

Stopping abruptly once more that day, he took a few deep breaths to calm his erratic heart beat. He was barely sweating and hadn't really exerted himself so he found it odd that he was acting this way. 'Am I sick? Why do I feel this way? So excited with great anticipation. I rarely feel this way, I hardly feel much at all. Is it because of that chakra?'

Once he had finally calmed he stuck to the shadows and follows the talking ladies. He was silent, quiet, and stealthy. Not many people even knew that he was there. His eyes were still activated as he watched the 2 talking intensely on a topic related to herbs and medicine. He was only mildly interested in a few things that could help on the field.

Neji went into alleys and hid in shadows as he continued to watch the 2 intently. A block from reaching their unknown destination, Neji got an idea. Instead of watching their movements he looked and focused his eyes so that he could see their chakra pathways, vital organs and chakra.

'The old lady's is a bit too big and unnatural but that would be normal if suffering from old age and illness. Their chakra would usually bee very lively for a few more months before it goes out. What a shame, and its colour is the normal blue that a civilian would have.' Neji paid no mind to her as she continued to talk to her pink haired companion. And thinking of which, Neji focused his eyes on her. The well trained eyes of the Hyuuga were met with a surprise when he looked at the color of her chakra. Blue tinged with green, its center pulsing a steady and healthy glow of green chakra making its' way into her reserves. It swirled a different pattern, had a different effect, and tinged a different color, emitting a different feeling.

In training grounds 28, he always only watched how her chakra was moving, spread, and used. Never actually checking the color, always assuming it to be blue like the rest of the ninjas their age… well most ninjas of their age. At times like these, Neji would always silently curse himself that he had ignored a tactical way of identifying a ninja.

He continued his silent observations as the continued walking. Not a moment after they were nearing a house a flicker of a strong chakra signature flared. A brief second later it was gone. He scanned the houses like a madman! He was intently watching Sakura the entire time therefore he knew it wasn't her. Neji's eyes finally settled on a woman with brown hair watching the conversing ladies intently. He checked her chakra color and not surprisingly enough, it was green. A bright green outlined and shaded with an astounding blue. Neji watched as her chakra flickered lively as she continued to watch specifically Sakura. From what he could tell from her chakra reserves to her complete control of her chakra, she was a kunoichi. A powerful one at that too.

Neji's eyes roamed back to Sakura and studied her chakra. Ever so slightly the color returned to its normal shade of blue while her inner core continued to pulse the healthy green chakra.

'Can 2 different types of chakra be in a body?'

Then all too soon the chakra completely disappeared. Looking again, the brown haired women's chakra was about the same size of that of a civilian's. Neji narrowed his eyes.

'She hid it so fast and so well. Within that one second when her chakra flared, did she find what she wanted? A powerful enemy? Ally? Whoever she is, it is best that the girl better stay away from her.'

Neji kept asking question as he witnessed the passing of events. Knowing that he was dealing with skilled ninja here, he quickly hid his own chakra to the best of his capabilities as he continued to watch. The brown haired woman's deceiving acting and the bond that she shared with the older lady was rather disturbing.

'Those 2 are strange. The old lady must be a kunoichi too then. Pink hair seems to be deceived. She is too friendly to others and not being able to tell friend from foe. Is she truly suitable for this type of profession?'

He watched as she waved a big farewell and ran towards the Hokage tower. Movement caught his attention. The 2 kunoichi were talking and unfortunately if he used chakra to heighten his senses the kunoichi would be sure to catch him.

'I've got a bad feeling about this…'

Ever so slowly he opened his eyes from meditating. A sign of stress and utter frustration left his lips. All the memories he replayed over and over again revolved around a certain girl.

'They are after her for something. I really need to talk to Naruto about this… but on second thought it might actually only distract him. Hn, I have to take care of this problem myself.'

His head still ached slightly from over thinking, so the place to relax was deep in the forests of training ground 22. A peaceful pond with a meadow at one side and a deep nature filled forest on the other. The area was near a park. More specifically an orchid filled with sakura trees. At this time of the year, it was in full bloom. Sakura petals would slowly drift from the sky doing a mesmerizing dance that held Neji captivated. It was only at this place that he could relax. No one tended to go there often because the training ground held no specific training characteristic. And civilians were not allowed in the vicinity. It was the perfect place. So that was the place he headed to.

Xx

Much later in the afternoon a chunnin was awakened rather instantly as a voice rang out in the lobby.

"I need to speak with Tsunade-san…"

"But she's busy at the moment! You need to pre-schedule in order to speak to her," the chunnin on duty drawled out nonchalantly.

"That's fine but may I please speak with Shizune-san then?"

The chunnin frowned before nodding curtly then headed to the study room beside the Hokage's room. He gave a brief knock before a lady answered the door. Whispering could be heard as they conversed. A few short moments later Shizune came out into the lobby. Her face set with a frown as she scanned the room looking for said person that needed to speak to Tsunade.

"Shizune-san?"

"Hai?" Shizune replied naturally while spinning to face the source of the voice. Momentarily shocked at the person in front of her, Shizune remained silent.

"I need to speak with Tsunade-san. It's important but unfortunately I'm not allowed in. Would you mind informing her that I'm here? It's rather important."

Shizune nodded in understanding before she quickly moved towards the Hokage's office. She entered as soon as she heard enter on the other side. Less than 3 seconds later, Shizune scurried out with a stern expression. She approached the woman that had requested for the audience of the Godaime.

"You may enter…"

A brief nod was the only acknowledgement that she had heard before the woman headed into the room.

Tsunade looked up from her work expectantly at the woman before her. 'It's been years since I've last seen her. She sure has grown into a fine lady.' The Godaime's eyes hazed over slightly as she continued with her train of thought. 'She isolated herself from all of us since her sensei's death. She would have helped so much in the hospital, but unfortunately her husband had to die. She just lost it then. Boy, does this bring back bad memories. What does she want from me now?'

Tsunade shook her head slightly only to clear her head before she raised an elegant eyebrow. Its simple action asked the question, 'What are you doing here? Aren't you off duty?'

"Good afternoon Tsunade-san. It's been a while hasn't it?"

"It has, it truly had been. So what brings you here in my office on this very afternoon Rin-chan?"

"Aah, nothing much really. I just wanted to discuss a few things with you."

A blond eyebrow shot up higher into its owners face. "And what might these few things be?"

"Sakura."

"Pardon?"

"Sakura."

"I see. So you've met her. What do you think?"

"A fine medic-nin. She has great skill but let me get to the point. I still need to pick up my son from school…I want to train her. Aisura and I have discussed our places and so I've decided that you really are too busy to help her."

"I'm offended Rin-chan. Are you saying that I can't teach?" Tsunade asked with a dry humour before she closed her eyes to actually consider Rin's offer. During the entire time, Rin remained silent and read the Hokage's expression. Moments later the Godaime's voice was heard once more. "What do you have to gain from this? And why her?"

"I have my reasons, now may you answer yes or no," came the curt reply.

"Do you know what she needs? Truly understand her reason fro fighting? Her skill?" Tsunade questioned.

"She made it clear that she wants to help a friend rather than kill. When one becomes a medic-nin, it's because they have lost someone important to them. They wish to help others so that it does not happen again. Few have ill intentions but considering that you are the one teaching her and our meeting yesterday, I believe that she has good intentions."

"Does she know of this?"

"No, but if you accept I will let her know when she comes over for tea."

"Tea… you say. Am I invited?"

"No…"

Tsunade's grin faltered. "Now may you please answer my question? Yes of no?" Rin firmly stated.

Tsunade brought her hand up and rubber her forehead as if in thought. 'This will solve a few of my problems.' "Fine."

"Very well. I shall inform her of our actions in a few days. Hokage-sama." Rin bowed before dismissing herself.

Xx

Rin walked towards the Academy thinking over her conversation with Tsunade. But before she came up with when to inform Sakura of these events, she noticed that she was going to be late.

She arrived just as the students were leaving to meet their parents. Her warm-up run to the academy left her in good spirits because it let her exercise her muscles while enjoying the fresh Konoha air. She searched the faces of many children until she found Kitai. She smiled when his smile brightened when he spotted her. Rin spread her arms as he ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Mommy, you're here today. Where is Aisura-baa-chan? She isn't sick is she? Did she hurt herself? Should we go see her? Wait, don't tell me she's in the hospit-"

"Shh darling, Aisura-san is fine. She just got home from shopping and so I decided to come and surprise you." Rin said with amusement in her eyes as she heard her son rant out his concerns for his grandmother. "Don't you want me here?" Rin asked with mock hurt laced in her voice.

Kitai shook his head vigorously. "Of course I want you here okaa-san, but I just wanted to know baa-chan's well being."

Rin smiled warmly at her only child, and then it turned into a frown. 'He's so young. So kind-hearted. I know he wants to help others but I can't bear to think about what would happen when he faced the real world. When he would be required to kill. Please kami-sama, wherever you are. Please don't shatter the heart of my son.'

Abruptly by her side Kitai voiced out his concern, "Okaa-san, are you okay? You're frowning. Did I do something wrong?"

Rin smiled again at his thoughtfulness, "I'm fine… I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Oh nothing really. I'm taking on a student. She's really nice, I'm sure you'll like her. You'll see her in a few days," Rin fibber. 'Well I was going to tell him anyways. Might as well tell him now, besides he shouldn't worry about things yet to come.'

Kitai's eyes widened. "Really, you're taking in a student. Wow! She must have impressed you. You've never accepted apprentice's before. I can't wait to meet her!"

"Well she certainly caught my interest," she said as she ruffled his hair. "Come on, let's get home."

Kitai grabbed his mother's hand and smiled brightly before enthusiastically walked in the direction to their homes.

Xx

Sweet pink blossoms drifted relaxingly to the ground. At this time of the year, the orchid was in full bloom. Sakura sat on a bench under a tree watching the pink petals fall endlessly from above. It was a site to behold. The sweet smelling air and relaxing scenery was bliss. 'I can stay here all day, but its getting late. I better go buy groceries before the sun sets.'

With a dejected sigh she got up and started walking down the trail that led out of the training ground. She closed her eyes trying to enjoy the essence of the training ground a little while longer. Her senses were dulled and her guard was down as she slowly wandered off the trail and into the secluded clearing in the small forest.

Xx

The air was peaceful and the trees swayed a hypnotic beat against the light breeze. From his position on the ground he could catch the sweet scent of Sakura blossoms and the tangy smell of spine and oak as well as having a perfect view of the sky and clouds. 'This is quite a change from the usual attention that was needed when surrounded by civilians and shinobi's. As he continued listening to the relaxing beat of his heart, he drifted off.

Slumber had claimed him and for the first time in many days, Neji was having a pleasant dream.

_Dream_

"_Father, look father! I can throw the kunai properly now. Look father!"_

_Hizashi looked down at his only son and gave him a fatherly smile. "Really now, I would like to see it Neji-kun."_

_Neji looked adoringly up at his father. His father was his role model, the only person that Neji cared for and loved since his mothers death, Neji dragged his father to the training dummy they had at the back of the Hyuuga complex. There he showed his father that he was able to hit the targets. The kunai's would sail through the air swiftly and gracefully as it should when thrown by a Hyuuga._

_Hizashi looked at his 3 year old son with a smile and congratulated him for his success. The smile on his face brightened Neji's day as well as making his pride soar for making his father proud. Hizashi lifted hi hand and gave a small pat on his head before saying that he was proud of him. The 3 year old Neji beamed and opened his mouth to speak, "Father… can you teach m-"_

_Neji's eyes widened. Something was wrong; his father seemed to be covered in a shadow and was no falling towards him._

"_Father?"_

_There was no reply… the figure seemed to loom before him. It was getting closer, and closer. Closer before-_

_End of dream_

"Umpf, oww."

Neji opened his eyes from his sleep and felt pain around his torso. He was greeted with a stricken sight.

Xx

The air smelt wonderful and the breeze that carried the scent of her favourite flowers seem to lead her somewhere but she kept her eyes closed. She was afraid that if she opened them the magic spell would break. Her feet lead her out into a clearing and she could feel the warmth of the sun. A content sigh left her mouth but unfortunately it turned into a startled gasp as her foot caught on something.

Her eyes shot open and she almost… almost let out a scream when she saw what or should I say who it was.

Xx

Pink, that was what he saw. Peaches were what he smelt. And a girl was on top of him. He blinked once then once again before the pink mass on top of him leaped into the air before landing on her feet. She was a stuttering mess from what he could tell. Not that he can say anything about himself but at least he hadn't said anything as of yet. He regarded her with narrowed eyes full of suspicion.

"I'm s-s-so sorr-rry, I didn't mean to f-fall on top of y-you… I was just walking on the t-trail and I guess I went of the trail and well you see my eyes were closed and I really wasn't watching where I was going and I'm so sorry!!!" when Sakura finally managed to form sentences again.

There was a pregnant pause when both were thinking.

Neji was thinking of how she reminded him of Hinata when she was stuttering before she startled rambling. A blush had crept onto her face without her knowing it when she mentioned falling on top of him but he did not miss that detail. In her rambling he caught the words wasn't looking and off trail and sorry. 'Hn, so that's what happened. I can't believe that she is this careless. She'll get killed sooner or later. Preferably later though when she isn't in my care anymore. Now I am obliged to watch her closer in case she goes off and alters her fate.'

Neji let out a sigh which finally brought Sakura's attention to him. "Is there anything you want or may I leave?"

'Oh my god, I can't believe I just fell on top of him… oh my god! He is so not going to forgive me; I just hope that he doesn't kill me. Sheesh now that is too harsh. He won't do that… at least I hope he won't.' The sigh caught her attention and when he asked her a question she was startled. She let out a sigh of relief. 'He's not going to kill me…'

There was yet again another unhealthy pause.

'Sakura!!! Say something intelligent for once. Don't stand here like an idiot!'

"Ano, would you mind to have a spar with me?"

Neji's eyebrow shot up. 'A spar? What is she thinking? I was sure that was not the reason why she was here. I was expecting her to leave, but she asks me fro a spar. Well I already know all her fighting style but I can't say that now can I? Might as well see how she would do to improvise with an enemy that is of another league…"

'OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Did I just ask him to spar with me? Sakura you big idiot! Now you're done for. You just had to go ask for your death wish didn't you? I'm too young to die! Well I'm sure he'll say no. Who would want to spar with me anyways? Right?'

"Sure…"

'Ok… I'm just going to drop dead right now. OH MY GOD! He said he'll spar with me. I'm dead.'

Xx

The last of Sakura's kunai soared through the air, going so fast that there was a sharp whistling coming from it. Neji immediately jumped down from his tree and ran towards Sakura readying his fingers for striking her chakra points. He was expecting her to fall from chakra exhaustion a few minutes ago but his prediction was wrong. He engaged her in taijutsu, and before long he had her on the floor panting.

"I give."

"Hn."

Neji wiped away the little sweat that was gathering on his face. 'Well that served to be a good workout.'

'Boy am I tired… hmm, I wonder what time it is?' Sakura looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun had just set. 'Oh my lord! I forgot to get the groceries!!!"

"Um Neji, I gotta go! I forgot to get my groceries today so I better run before the market closes for today! I'll see you around."

Sakura started to go but Neji's voice stopped her in her tracks. "I'll go with you."

Sakura looked at him wide eyed. She managed a nod before doing a 180 and walked furiously down the path towards the market place. Neji's light footfalls could be heard behind her. It made her walk all the faster, hoping to get out of his presence as soon as possible.

Xx

'Why did I go with her again? Oh, because it is getting dark and I cannot allow her to wander in the streets all alone at night. I promise you Naruto great pain when you get back for causing me all this trouble. If it weren't for the promise I made with you I would be back at the Hyuuga compound meditating myself to sleep. Well at least I know her strength has greatly improved.'

The pair went into the market where many people were just leaving after a day of shopping. Sakura quickly grabbed a basket and headed towards the fruits area. Neji observed as she placed apples, peaches, and strawberries into her basket. Soon after, vegetable and meats of all sorts followed. He raised his eyebrow when he saw her pick up some cookie dough, tea, and other little pastries. 'She eats a lot of sweets…'

All this time Neji had walked very silently along with her, he even waited stock still as she paid for her groceries. His silent ness was really starting to unnerve her. 'He hadn't said a word since we left the clearing. Oh lord, I must look like a klutz right now.'

Xx

The two had finally arrived at Sakura's house which was sandwiched between two other identical houses. "Ano… would you like to come in?"

Neji stiffened at the thought of going into her house. 'This couldn't already make the situation worse. I might as well scout out her environment in case.' Neji gave her a nod of confirmation.

Sakura sighed eternally, she was hoping he would say no but since he said he wouldn't mind coming in she had no choice. 'At least I cleaned up the house yesterday.'

Sakura opened the door and let them both in. Neji's senses were hit with the warmth that the house provided. The house looked welcoming and cozy unlike the Hyuuga compound and there was even the scent of cookies in the air. Now that was something never found in his home.

Sakura locked the door behind her and lead him to what seemed like the living room where there were two couches cream coloured on a beige carpet. In the center stood a little coffee table with a small pile of magazines on top. Two lamps were tucked nicely in the corners, and a door to the side lead to the kitchen.

"Ano, please take a seat. Would you like some tea and some cookies that I made this morning? I know that it isn't as fresh as it could be but I didn't have time to make them in the afternoon so I made them in the morning but now that I think about it, maybe I should hav-"

'She's rambling now.' Neji internally sighed.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Oh, ok…"

Sakura stood there not knowing what to do. 'Oh lord, what do I do in situations like these? Wait, how would I know, I've never been in a situation like this before. Ok, calm down Sakura. He said he did not want cookies but he never said that he did not want tea. Ok let's ask him if he wishes to drink some tea.'

"Ano… would you like some tea then?"

"Sure."

"Um, ok. Would you like to take a seat while I go and prepare the water?" As Sakura walked towards the kitchen, she saw that Neji headed towards one of the couches and took a seat. Sakura let out a sigh, 'So what am I suppose to do now? He's not a very talkative person so it would be just plain weird to try and start a conversation with him.'

Moments later, the two Konoha shinobi were seated and sipping hot tea. The silence was uncomfortable and awkward since one did not speak much while the other did not know what to say in this case.

Sakura's eyes looked up when Neji started speaking, "Where's your parents? Your house is too quiet."

'Her eyes are downcast, should I have not asked that question?'

There was silence in the room once again but this time, it was tense. Neji was anticipating Sakura's answer as she sat still debating whether to ask him to leave or answer.

"My father died on a mission a few years ago. My mom is a jounin on a mission right now in Sand. She won't be back for another week or so."

"I see, sorry for asking."

'Her place was relatively safe but now that I know that no one is with her, it's rather unsafe. I suppose I would have to watch her everyday now.' Neji sighed inwardly thinking of all the trouble he would have to watch her and stay undetected and inconspicuous.

"Ano… if I am not intruding, Neji-san, what about your parents?"

Neji's frame stiffened slightly and answered in a cold voice, "I'd rather not talk about it."

There was silence again.

Sakura was fidgeting in her seat; her eyes unable to look at Neji straight in the face were darting everywhere. 'What can I talk about now? Sakura… get a hold of yourself. Why don't you ask him to become your sparring partner or something? He was awesome and tired you out today, perhaps he won't mind sparring once in a while. Well it's worth a shot.'

"Ano… I was wondering… would you like to spar once in a while with me." Neji made no immediate comment so Sakura continued, "But I understand if you do not wish to because you are too busy."

'Her sparring partner? Well there really isn't anything wrong with that. I can help her improve while keeping an eye on her so that later on I know that she will be strong enough to defend herself. It may also prove to be an asset if she continues to improve. If I am able to be in her presence without drawing suspicion then I will be able to find out what the 2 kunoichi want from her. I can see how well the Hyuuga Juken work against a medic-nin. If I am lucky, I may be able to get her to help Hinata-sama become a medic-nin as well.'

"I'll think about it. I'll answer you tomorrow, but as of now it is getting late and I think that I should start heading back the Hyuuga compound. Thanks for the tea and I'll see you tomorrow." Neji got up and gave a short bow before leaving.

Sakura was very surprised when Neji actually said that he would think about it but she wasn't about to let her hopes get high. She got up and bowed to Neji as well and closed the door behind him. Then she remembered that she forgot to say thanks. So she flung open the door and shouted to the figure that was disappearing down the street. "Arigato Neji-san for walking me home and spending your time with me."

The figure stopped and gave a slight nod before leaping away. Sakura stared at the spot where Neji was a moment before, before going back in. 'What a weird day, but there's no use dwelling over it now. It is best to tidy up and study a bit before sleeping.' Yawning, Sakura made her way back to the room to clean up the dishes.

Xx

With great stealth, Neji made his way around the complex before reaching his room. As always, he let his eyes search his room before going in but as he placed his hand on the shoji doors, his eyes caught something that did not belong on his desk. It was an orange blob of some sort. He took out a kunai before opening the door.

Neji did not expect the frog to turn around raise its' webbed hand and say "yo".

"What took you? You were also standing outside your door for so long. I thought you would never come in. I don't have all day you know. Naruto sent me here to retrieve a letter he was expecting. You better hurry up because the old hag expects me back at her office tomorrow night and I want to catch a few Z's before that happens."

"I see," Neji said his face passive. "Would you mind to give me an hour to compose this letter? Your visit was unexpected and I just arrived."

"Sure, just hurry up. I'll take a nap while I wait."

Neji gave the frog a nod before taking a seat and starting the letter.

_Naruto,_

_As you have requested I have been keeping watch of the kunoichi these 2 months. At first, I was disappointed with the kunoichi's lack of skill but she has been steadily improving. She should be bordering chunnin level in another 2 weeks or so. However she seems to have trouble detecting others within the vicinity. But what troubles me most are that 2 kunoichi's seem to have taken an interest in her. They seem to be powerful but I can not go near her at times unless I draw suspicion upon myself. I have found a way to get closer to the kunoichi. She has asked me to be her sparring partner, and I have yet accepted but this will give me the opportunity to watch over her as well as train her. I will inform you about the 2 kunoichi's the next time you send a letter. I hope you are faring well. Until then._

_Neji_

After sealing the letter to make sure that it could not be opened by any other but Naruto, Neji attached the letter to Gamakichi's leg. As the frog left, Neji cleaned up and changed before retiring for the night.

Moments later the frog was back in the Hokage tower waiting for dawn. The next night was going to be a long one. 'Stupid sennin, frogs aren't suppose to run in the desert! Gah, I'll make pa give him a wacking the nest time he is summoned. But for now, time to catch up on my-y Zzzzzz'

**A/N: Oh my… haha! I am incredibly sorry for the late update but my computer had sorta broke down --" . Besides that school was exhausting and I never found the time to write. I'm so sorry but I am sure the next update would be a lot earlier. I promise it would be out before exams come! **

**Next Chapter: Confrontation**

**TBC…**


End file.
